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Ellis,    James  J. 
John  Williams,    the  martyr 
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JOHN    WILLIAMS 


Zhc  fIDartijr  flDiesionar^  of  pol^ueeia. 


BY 


REV.  JAMES   J.  ELLIS. 


"  A  man  who  has  achieved  for  himself  a  deathless  fame,  and  concern- 
ing whom  generations  to  come  will  doubtless  feel  a  laudable  and 
reverential  curiosity. " — Dr.  Campbell,  on  John  Williams. 


: :  jf  lemlno  1F3,  1Rev>ell  : : 


New  York: 
12  bible  house,  astor  place. 


Chicago: 

148  and  150  madison  street, 


publisbcr  of  Evangelical  literature 


UNIFORM    WITH    "JOHN    WILLIAMS." 

Croicn  Svo,  160  pages.     Many  Illustrations,  Cloth  extra. 

David   Livingstone:    His  Labours  and    His   Legacy.     By 

Arthur  Montefiore,  F.R.G.S.,  Author  of  "H.M.Stanley, 

the  African  Explorer." 
Lady    Missionaries    in    Foreign    Lands.      By    Mrs.    E.    R. 

Pitman,  Author  of  "  Yestina's  Martyrdom,"  &c.  &c. 
William  Carey,  tlie  Shoemaker  who  became  the  Father 

and  Founder  of  Modern  Missions.     By  Rev.  J.  B.  Myers, 

Association  Secretary,  Baptist  Missionary  Society. 
Robert     Moffat,     the     Missionary     Hero     of    Kuruman. 

By  David  J.   DeanE;  Author  of   "Martin  Luther,  the 

Reformer,"  "John  Wicliffe,"  &c. 
James  Chalmers,  Missionary  and  Explorer  of  Raratonga 

and  New  Guinea.     By  William  Robson,  of  the  London 

Missionary  Society. 

Griflath  John,  Founder  of  the  Hankow  Mission,  Central 
China.  By  William  Robson,  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society. 

Bishop  Patteson,  the  Martyr  of  Melanesia.  By  Jesse 
Page. 

Robert  Morrison,  the  Pioneer  of  Chinese  Missions. 
By  William  J.  Townsend,  General  Secretary  of  the 
Methodist  New  Connexion  Missionary  Society ;  Author 
of  "  The  Great  Schoolmen  of  the  Middle  Ages." 

Samuel  Crowther;  the  Slave  Boy  who  became  Bishop  of 
the  Niger.  By  Jesse  Page,  Author  of  "  Bishop  Patteson, 
the  Martyr  of  Melanesia." 

Thomas  J.  Comber,  Missionary  Pioneer  to  the  Congo. 
By  Rev.  J.  B.  Myers,  Association  Secretary,  Baptist 
Missionary  Society. 


/I  ',1 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A   WORD    WITH    MANY   ECHOES,   I796-1816. 

PAGE 

Two  pictures — Beginning  to  live,  and  led  by  a  straw — Boyhood — 
The  Mechanic — Sunday-School  work — Offers  for  Mission 
service — "Tha'  twa  callants  " — The  half  man  completed — 
At  home  on  board  ship,        .         .         .         .         .         .         -13 


CHAPTER  H. 

A   STRANGER   WITH    MANY   FRIENDS,   1816-1822. 

First  sight  of  Slavery — The  danger  of  speaking  one's  mind — 
Building  his  first  ship — Raiatea,  remarkable  incidents,  as 
the  overthrow  of  Idolatry — "Pointing  to  the  Cross" — 
"  Money  for  causing  the  Word  of  God  to  grow  " — Chapel 
building — "Bring  out  that  pig"  —  Discouraged — Infanti- 
cide— The  death  of  one  parent  and  the  new  birth  of  the 
other — Purchase  of  a  Ship — Visit  of  the  Deputation, 


25 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III. 

A    VOYAGE    WITH    MANY    DISCOVERIES,    1823-1827. 

PAGE 

Instructions  to  Native  Teachers,  work  well  and  pray  much — 
"  Watched  with  rat's  eyes " — The  Word  taking  root  at 
Aitutaki  —  "Roasting  stones"  —  "All  heads  equal  at 
Mangaia  " — "  Birds  with  teeth  in  their  heads  " — Discovery 
of  Raratonga — Sale  of  the  Endeavour — Arks  of  Satan — 
Removing  the  settlement  —  A  Native  cure  for  a  scolding 
wife,    ...........       46 

CHAPTER  IV. 

A   TROUBLE   WITH    MANY   BLESSINGS,   1827-I83O. 

Second  visit  to  Raratonga — Narrow  escape  from  death — Making 
chips  talk — Privations — Evil  customs — Building  a  ship — 
Visit  of  three  vessels — **  Hinges  all  over  me,"        ...       58 

CHAPTER  V. 

A   SOWING   WITH    MANY    HARVESTS,   183O-1832, 

Voyage  to  Samoa — *'  Sweet  as  a  rat  " — A  savage — Turned 
back — A  tyrannical  Chief — Arrival  at  Savaii — Providential 
preparations — Narrow  escape  from  being  shot — Try  and 
trust  —  Adventure  with  Bats  —  Old  blind  Me — Death  of 
Tamatoa — Hurricane  at  Raratonga,       .         .         .         .         •       IZ 

CHAPTER  VI. 

A    WANDERER    WITH    MANY    HOMES,   1832-1834. 

Second  voyage  to  Samoa — "  Turning  men  to  religion  " — A  Preach- 
ing Chief — Reach  Savaii — Hymns — Native  Teacher's  Story — 
Stone  Registers — Call  at  Keppel's  Island — Spring  a  leak — 
Repairing  the  Ship — Arrival  at  Raratonga,    ....       99 


CONTENTS. 


Vll 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A   CHAMPION    WITH   MANY   TROPHIES,   1834-1838. 

PAGE 

Mary  Carpenter's  opinion — "Isn't  he  a  wonderful  man?" — The 
old  man's  testimony — Writing  a  Book — Collecting  for  a 
Ship — "Truths  worth  carrying  round  the  World" — Letter 
to  his  Son — Farewell  to  England,  .         .         .         .         .124 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A   STEPHEN    WITH   MANY   A   PAUL,   1838-1839. 

Arrival  at  Samoa  —  Residence  there — Visit  to  Raratonga — 
Meeting  with  Makea — Last  Sermon — Forebodings — Arrival 
at  the  New  Hebrides — Favourable  reception  at  Tanna — 
Death  at  Erromanga— Mrs.  Williams'  return  to  England, 
and  Death — Opinions  of  Friends,  .         .         .         . 


137 


NOTE 

ADDRESSED  TO  THE  AUTHOR  OF  THIS  VOLUME 
BY  THE 

REV.    S.    TAMATOA    WILLIAMS. 


Catford,  3 1  J-/  October,  1889. 

My  Dear  Sir, — I  have  read  over  and  corrected  the  proof 
sheets  of  your  Life  of  my  beloved  father,  and  in  compliance 
w^ith  your  request,  certify  to  its  general  accuracy.  May  I  point 
out  one  feature  of  his  v^^ork  as  deserving  of  notice  ? — viz.,  his 
early  employment  of  native  teachers.  My  father  had  a  good 
insight  into  character,  and  could  select  and  train  suitable 
men  for  the  great  work.  He  was  the  first  of  our  modern 
missionaries  to  use  native  agents  to  pioneer  the  way  for 
more  cultured  workers.  This  employment  of  native  teachers 
has  been  a  striking  feature  of  our  South  Sea  Mission,  and 
may  in  some  degree  account  for  its  rapid  extension  under 
the  Divine  blessing. 

With  good  wishes  for  the  success  of  your  little  work, 

I  am,  Dear  Sir, 

Yours  faithfully, 

S.  TAMATOA  WILLIAMS. 


PREFACE. 


OHN  WILLIAMS  must  ever  occupy  a  prominent 

and  unique  position  among  missionary  heroes. 
His  remarkable  mechanical  genius,  his  romantic 
adventures,  and,  above  all,  his  tragical  death, 
continue  to  invest  his  name  with  a  peculiar  charm. 
His  place  among  the  champions  of  the  Cross  is 
peculiarly  his  own,  and  in  his  own  form  of  service, 
he  is  certainly  inferior  to  neither  Carey  nor  any 
other  of  the  mighty  men  of  Mission  renown.  The 
chastened  sweetness  of  his  disposition,  which  never 
degenerated  into  weakness,  his  ingenuity  in  devising 
expedients,  and  his  resolute  persistence  in  what  often 
appeared  to  be  labour  in  vain,  together  with  the  large 
heartedness  that  could  "  not  be  confined  within  the 
limits  of  a  single  reef,"  constitute  him,  in  the  writer's 
judgment,  the  very  Prince  of  Missionaries,  since  the 
days  of  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles. 

An    attentive   study   of  his    private   journals    has 


IX 


X  PREFACE. 

deepened  the  writer's  reverence  for  the  hero  of  his 
youth,  and  he  is  at  present  at  a  loss  whether  to 
admire  nnore  the  greatness  or  the  persistent  goodness 
of  the  Apostle  of  Polynesia. 

In  these  days,  when  Missionary  operations  are 
keenly  scrutinised,  and  not  always,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, in  the  most  friendly  spirit,  it  is  inspiring  to 
observe  in  John  Williams  the  heights  to  which 
Christian  magnanimity  and  consecration  have  risen  ; 
and,  while  thankful  that  such  a  man  has  lived  to  reveal 
to  us  the  possibilities  of  life,  his  career  is  surely  also  a 
promise  of  missionary  heroes,  and  perhaps,  alas,  of 
martyrs,  yet  to  come. 

In  estimating  accurately  his  character  and  work, 
it  is  essential  to  a  correct  judgment  that  we  should 
seek  to  realise  the  conditions  under  which  he  laboured. 
In  the  first  place,  he  was  not  inspired  and  encouraged 
by  a  great  enthusiasm  from  home  such  as  stimulates 
the  present  workers  on  the  Congo  for  example.  In 
his  day  the  Missionary  Societies  were  feeble  and 
intensely  cautious.  They  crept  tenderly  along  the 
shores,  being  especially  anxious  not  to  lose  sight  of 
familiar  headlines,  and  nervously  fearful  lest  they 
should  venture  too  far  into  deep  water.  They  were 
horrified  when  this  bold  sailor  ventured  out  into  what 
they  supposed  to  be  hazardous  experiments,  but  he 
did  not  suffer  shipwreck  or  loss.  The  wreckage  that 
was  floated  to  him,  revealed  the  unknown  Continent 
he  sought,  and  he  went  on  until  he  discovered  it.  To 
him  must  therefore  be  assigned  much  of  that  antici- 
patory wisdom  which  becomes  common  property  in 


PREFACE.  xi 

succeeding  generations  ;  he  set  the  standard  by  which 
subsequent  labourers  have  toiled. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten,  that  during  the  greater 
part  of  his  life-time,  he  laboured  in  comparative 
obscurity.  It  was  not  until  after  his  visit  to  England 
that  he  was  fully  recognised  as  one  of  the  master 
spirits  which  from  time  to  time  are  given  by  Christ  to 
His  Church.  Hence  his  success  was  not  the  reflex 
action  of  approval,  as  success  is  (without  blame)  in 
some  instances,  but  it  was  solely  the  product  of  the 
principles  which  animated  him  wherever  his  lot  was 
cast,  and  whatever  he  attempted  to  do.  And  whether 
building  a  vessel  or  translating  the  Scriptures,  he 
was  the  same  simple,  earnest  and  affectionate  disciple 
of  Jesus  and  brother  of  men.  Being  such  as  he  was, 
success  was  natural ;  not  to  have  succeeded  would 
have  been  a  greater  wonder  still  than  even  his 
marvellous  triumph. 

The  authorities  upon  which  the  present  narrative 
is  based  are  first,  Williams'  own  matchless  "  Mission- 
ary Enterprises  in  the  South  Seas,"  a  book  as  refresh- 
ing as  it  is  interesting,  because  imbued  with  the 
writer's  own  gracious  spirit  ;  Prout's  valuable 
biography,  now  out  of  print  ;  "  The  Missionary's 
Farewell  ;  "  "  The  Martyr  of  Erromanga  ;  "  "  Euthan- 
asia ;  "  the  Chronicles  and  History  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society,  together  with  the  original  journals 
of  Messrs.  Williams  and  Cunningham,  and  the  narra- 
tive of  an  anonymous  writer  on  board  the  Camden  at 
the  time  of  the  massacre. 

The  Author  desires  to  gratefully  acknowledge  his 


Xll  PREFACE. 

indebtedness  to  his  friend,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Tamatoa 
WilHams,  who  not  only  supplied  valuable  informa- 
tion, but  has  also  kindly  corrected  the  narrative  ;  to 
William  Williams,  Esq.,  who  placed  all  the  letters  and 
journals  of  his  lamented  father  at  the  writer's  disposal, 
and  to  numerous  other  friends,  who  have  rendered 
valuable  service. 

It  is  believed  that  some  incidents  of  the  present 
volume  are  now  published  for  the  first  time. 

Richmond,  Surrey. 


JOHN    WILLIAMS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


A  WORD   WITH   MANY  ECHOES. 


1796-1816. 


"She  doeth  little  kindnesses, 
Which  most   leave  undone  or  despise  ; 
For  nought  that  sets  the  mind  at  ease, 
And  giveth  happiness  and  peace, 
Is  low  esteemed  in  her  eyes." 

J.  R.  Lowell. 

YOUNG  man  stood  near  a  street  corner  in  the 
City  Road,  London.  The  light  of  the  lamps 
fell  full  upon  his  somewhat  large  features  and 
tall  form  ;  and,  although  only  eighteen  years  of 
age,  his  frame  gave  abundant  promise  of  great  phys- 
ical strength.  It  was  Sunday  evening,  January  the 
3rd,  1 8 14,  and  the  bells  were  chiming  for  service. 
Although  in  the  habit  of  attending  Divine  worship, 
he  did  not  heed  them,  as  he  was  waiting  for  the 
arrival  of  some  companions  with  whom  he  intended 

13 


14  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

visiting  the  Highbury  Tea  Gardens,  in  the  North 
of  London.  That  young  man's  name  was  John 
Williams. 

Upon  Ruskin's  principle  of  "  Tell  me  what  you  like 
and  I  will  tell  you  what  you  are,"  John  Williams' 
delight  in  such  pleasures  as  a  tavern  garden  afforded 
showed  to  what  degradation  this  son  of  a  Christian 
mother  had  sunk.  He  himself  has  said  of  this  period 
of  his  life,  "  My  course  though  not  outwardly  immoral, 
was  very  wicked.  I  was  regardless  of  the  holy 
Sabbath,  a  lover  of  pleasure  more  than  a  lover  of  God, 
I  often  scoffed  at  the  name  of  Christ  and  His  religion, 
and  totally  neglected  those  things  which  alone  can 
afford  solid  consolation." 

While  he  thus  lingered,  impatiently  waiting  for  his 
friends,  who  were  most  providentially  late,  a  lady 
passed  him.  She  at  once  recognised  the  young  man 
as  one  of  her  husband's  apprentices.  Prompted  by 
one  of  those  irresistible  impulses  which  are  proved 
by  their  results  to  be  the  inspiration  of  God,  she 
spoke  to  him.  He  told  her  of  his  disappointment, 
and  Mrs.  Tonkin — for  such  was  the  lady's  name — 
invited  him  to  accompany  her  to  the  Old  Whitfield 
Tabernacle,  situated  near  the  City  Road.  He 
refused,  but  she  continued  to  urge  her  request.  At 
length,  wearied  out  by  her  importunity,  and  also  a 
little  influenced  by  annoyance  at  his  companions' 
unpunctuality,  he  yielded,  and  entered  the  chapel. 
This  was  the  turning  point  in  his  life  ;  in  Carlyle's 
words  he  "  was  henceforth  a  Christian  man  ;  believed 
in  God  not  on  Sundays  only,  but  on  all  days,  in  all 
places,  and  in  all  cases." 

Twenty-four  years  after  that  memorable  evening, 
John  Williams,  then  about  to  start  upon  his  second 
voyage  to  the  South  Seas,  in   a  crowded  assembly, 


A   WORD   WITH    MANY   ECHOES.  1 5 

thronging  the  Whitfield  Tabernacle,  which  building 
has  since  been  pulled  down,  thus  alluded  to  his  con- 
version : — "  I  have  the  door  in  my  view  at  the  present 
moment  at  which  I  entered,  and  I  have  all  the  circum- 
stances of  that  important  era  in  my  history  vividly 
impressed  on  my  mind,  and  I  have  in  my  eye  at  this 
instant  the  particular  spot  on  which  I  took  my  seat. 
I  have  •  also  a  distinct  impression  of  the  powerful 
sermon  that  was  that  evening  preached  by  the 
excellent  Mr.  East,  now  of  Birmingham.  Mr.  East 
that  evening  took  for  his  text,  one  of  the  most 
impressive  portions  of  inspired  writ,  *  What  is  a  man 
profited  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his 
own  soul  ?  Or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for 
his  soul  ? '  (Mark  viii.  36,  37).  God  was  pleased  in 
His  own  gracious  providence  to  influence  my  mind 
at  that  time  so  powerfully  that  I  forsook  all  my 
worldly  companions,  and  became  a  teacher  in  the 
Sabbath-school  connected  with  this  place.  Many  a 
Sabbath  afterwards  did  I  sit  upon  the  form  now  in 
my  sight  with  my  class,  and  impart  that  knowledge 
to  them  which  God  in  His  gracious  goodness  had 
given  to  me." 

Well  might  he  further  remark,  "Little  did  that 
female  friend  who  took  me  by  the  hand,  and  con- 
ducted me  to  this  place  of  worship  at  that  time — little 
did  she  imagine  what  would  be  the  result  of  her  kind 
effort !  Oh,  friends,  what  momentous  consequences 
in  the  providence  of  God  are  poised  upon  com- 
paratively insignificant  incidents.  It  shows  what 
may  be  done  for  God  by  comparatively  insignificant 
persons — persons  who  are  of  no  note  in  the  Christian 
Church." 

"At  the  age  of  twenty-two,  I  feel  I  have  still  to 
begin  to  live,"  said  John  Foster.     On  Sunday  evening, 


1 6  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

January  the  3rd,  1 8 14,  John  Williams  made  the  same 
discovery ;  then  also  he  really  began  to  live,  for  from 
thenceforth  he  lived  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God. 

Before,  however,  pursuing  his  after  course,  we  must 
go  back  and  look  upon  another  picture. 

In  the  reign  of  James  the  First,  two  yeomen  knelt 
by  the  roadside  near  Witney,  Oxfordshire.  John 
and  James  Williams  were  brothers  ;  they  had  been 
expelled  by  the  Bishop  of  Bangor  from  his  diocese 
for  nonconformity.  At  that  time  there  were  no 
Bibles  in  Wales  except  in  the  churches  ;  and  the 
establishment  there  was  served  by  men  who  did  not 
understand  Welsh.  The  Bishop  of  Bangor  records  in 
his  journal,  that  during  a  visitation  of  his  diocese,  he 
found  that  in  some  parishes  there  had  been  no  preach- 
ing for  five  or  six  years ;  and  in  others,  the  graveyard 
was  employed  as  a  stackyard,  and  the  vicar's  saddles 
and  beehives  were  stored  in  the  Church.  Yet,  because 
these  brothers  absented  themselves  from  services 
which  they  could  not  understand — because,  conducted 
in  what  was  to  them  a  foreign  tongue — services,  more- 
over, conducted  by  men  like  Sir  John  Edwards,  "  who 
spent  most  of  his  time  in  public-houses," — they  were 
banished  from  the  Principality. 

The  two  exiles  were  Baptists,  and  joined  a  church 
of  that  persuasion  at  Langworth,  Berkshire.  But 
they  were  not  suffered  to  rest  long  in  Langworth,  so 
they  wandered  until  at  length  they  came  into  the 
neighbourhood  of  Witney.  They  were  hungry,  poor, 
and  friendless,  and  they  knew  not  whither  to  go  for 
shelter.  Kneeling  down  by  the  roadside,  they  prayed 
for  guidance  and  help,  and  after  the  custom  of  those 
times,  they  asked  a  sign  from  God  to  indicate  their 
future  course.  Rising  from  their  knees,  they  con- 
fidently threw  a  straw  into  the  air,  and  walked  in  the 


A   WORD   WITH    MANY    ECHOES.  1 7 

direction  of  its  fall.  Towards  night-time  they  found 
themselves  in  the  village  of  Coate.  There  they 
requested  permission  of  a  farmer  to  sleep  in  his  barn. 
He  allowed  them  to  do  so,  and  the  next  morning, 
being  somewhat  interested  in  their  appearance,  he 
questioned  them  and  heard  their  story.  He  at  once 
offered  them  employment,  which  they  accepted,  and 
they  entered  his  service  at  once.  One  of  them,  James 
Williams,  subsequently  married  the  farmer's  daughter, 
the  other  remained  unmarried  all  his  days.  The 
brothers  appear  to  have  prospered  in  Coate,  as  there 
is  a  record  of  their  having -purchased  land  there.  But 
they  retained  in  their  prosperity  the  faith  for  which 
they  had  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  for  they 
erected  a  Baptist  chapel  in  the  village,  which  is  still 
used  for  Divine  service.  The  son  or  grandson  of  this 
James  Williams  became  one  of  Cromwell's  Ironsides ; 
he  was  called  Black  Williams,  and  retired  to  Coate  at 
the  Restoration.  A  much  later  descendant  of  James 
Williams  removed  to  Oxford  ;  his  son  Richard  was 
the  father  of  the  future  missionary. 

The  mother  of  John  Williams  was  a  Miss  Maid- 
ment.  Her  father,  who  resided  over  his  business  in 
St.  Paul's  Churchyard,  was  a  china  and  glass  merchant ; 
the  firm  traded  under  the  names  of  Maidment  &  Neale, 
the  business  being  now  removed  to  Cannon  Street. 
Miss  Maidment  during  her  youth  had  attended 
the  ministry  of  the  famous  Romaine,  the  author  of 
"  The  Life,  Walk,  and  Triumph  of  Faith,"  who  was 
then  so  popular  that  it  was  said,  "  people  came  from 
the  country  to  see  Garrick  act,  and  to  hear  Romaine 
preach."  Mr.  Maidment  was  a  personal  friend  of  the 
preacher,  and  for  a  long  time  Mr.  Romaine  conducted 
a  weekly  service  at  his  friend's  house  in  St.  Paul's 
Churchyard.      After   her   marriage,   and    consequent 


1 8  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

removal    from    London   to   her    husband's   house   in 
Oxford,  Mrs.  Williams  worshipped  with  the  Baptists 
of  that  city,  of  whom  the  Rev.  John  Hinton  was  the 
minister.     Subsequently,  Mrs.  Williams  with  her  hus- 
band removed  from  Oxford  to  Tottenham,  six  miles 
north  of  London.     In  this  quiet  country  village,  as  it 
was  then,  the  young  couple  lived  for  some  years.     In 
a  little  house  upon  the  brow  of  the  hill,  just  beyond 
the  Green,  and  situated  between  the  spot  where  the 
Congregational    Chapel    now   stands   and    the    High 
Cross,  their  son  John,  the  future  Apostle  of  Polynesia, 
was  born,  on  the  27th  of  June,  1796.     Of  his  boyhood 
no  anecdotes  have  been  preserved,  but  we  learn  that 
he  was  cheerful,  active,  and  intensely  affectionate,  and 
gave  early  proof  of  his  remarkable  mechanical  genius. 
Perhaps  the  most  noticeable  feature  of  his  youthful 
character   was    the    faculty    that    one   of    his    fellow 
workers  in  the  South  Seas  thus  describes: — "Williams," 
says  Mr.  Pitman,  "  was  possessed  of  a  peculiar  talent 
which  at  once  won  upon  the  natives,  whether  chiefs 
or  common   people."      As   a  boy  he  won   upon   his 
acquaintances  and  friends.     His  mother  attended  the 
old   Independent  Chapel   at   Edmonton,  nearly  two 
miles  distant  from  her  home  ;  and  with  her  boy  she 
regularly  occupied  a  pew  in  the  right  hand  corner  of 
the  end   gallery  facing  the  pulpit.      For  education, 
John  went  still  farther  ;  his  school  in  Lower  Edmon- 
ton was  nearly  three  miles  from    Tottenham    High- 
Cross.     Here,  however,  he  was  only  taught  writing 
and  arithmetic.     His  mother  was  probably  his  chief 
instructor,  as  she  certainly  was  his  best ;  every  day 
she  assembled  her  children  in  her  chamber  in  order  to 
teach  and  to  pray  with  them.     When  the  time  came 
for  him  to  commence  the  toil  of  life,  he  was  appren- 
ticed for  seven  years  to   Mr.   Tonkin,  a   furnishing 


A   WORD   WITH    MANY    ECHOES.  1 9 

ironmonger,  who  kept  a  shop  in  the  City  Road.  His 
indentures,  dated  the  27th  of  March,  18 10,  showed 
that  he  was  not  to  undertake  the  laborious  part  of  the 
business ;  and  he  was  to  acquire  only  so  much  of  the 
retail  department  as  would  enable  him  to  manage  a 
business  of  his  own.  His  parents,  about  this  time, 
removed  from  Tottenham  to  a  house  in  Spencer 
Street,  Goswell  Road,  London,  probably  in  order  to 
be  near  their  son. 

"  Every  man's  best  education  is  that  which  he  gives 
himself,"  remarked  Wilberforce  ;  it  certainly  proved 
so  in  this  instance.  After  mastering  all  that  was 
required  of  him,  although  he  was  not  intended  to  be 
a  mechanic,  John  Williams  lost  no  opportunity  of 
acquiring  a  practical  knowledge  of  his  trade.  In  his 
moments  of  leisure  he  visited  the  workshops  and 
minutely  watched  the  workmen,  and  during  their 
absence  he  made  experiments  in  metal  working. 
After  a  short  time,  this  almost  self-taught  mechanic 
became  so  proficient  that  any  article  requiring  extra 
skill  in  its  manufacture  was  always  entrusted  to  him. 
It  is  said  that  such  pleasure  did  he  find  in  his  work, 
that  he  would  cheerfully  shoulder  the  necessary  tools, 
and  hasten  to  any  job  that  might  come  in,  as  if  he 
were  merely  an  ordinary  mechanic.  But  while  he 
thus  taught  himself  that  which  was  of  priceless  value 
to  him  in  after  years,  he  did  not,  in  acquiring  mechan- 
ical aptitude,  neglect  the  duties  which  were  his  special 
charge.  On  the  contrary,  so  competent  did  he  become 
in  the  shop,  that  for  a  long  time  the  entire  manage- 
ment of  the  business  was  entrusted  to  him.  We  have 
now  narrated  his  history  up  to  the  Sunday  evening 
already  referred  to. 

An    earnest    clergyman    of  Yorkshire,   during   the 
great  revival  under  Whitfield  and  Wesley,  was  wont 


20  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

to  say,  "  I  do  love  those  one-eyed  Christians."    John 
WilHams  became  a  one-eyed  Christian.    He  resolutely 
and  completely  broke  from  the  world,  and  threw  him- 
self ardently  into  Christian  service.     In  September, 
1814,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Tabernacle  Church, 
and  began  immediately  to  labour  as  a  Sunday  School 
teacher,  tract  distributer  and  sick  visitor.      At  least 
one   soul    was   converted    by    his    earnest    efforts    in 
.those  days.     Conscious  of  his  own  deficiencies,  which 
knowledge  is  one  of  the  benefits  of  doing  good,  he 
joined   a    Mutual    Improvement    Society,  which   met 
every   Monday  evening  for   the  discussion   of  some 
important  topic.     A  class  conducted  by  the  eccentric 
Rev.  Mathew   Wilks    was    probably  of  the   greatest 
benefit  to  John  WiUiams  at  this  period.     This  class 
was  composed  of  young  men  who  were  preparing  to 
enter  the  Christian  ministry,  and  Mr.  Wilks,  a  keen 
judge  of  character,  inyited  John  to  join  it.    Mr.  Wilks, 
among  many  other  excellences,  was  an  ardent  mission- 
ary advocate,  and  once  a  quarter  he  held  a  missionary 
meeting  in  the  Tabernacle  for  the  purpose  of  diffus- 
ing missionary  information.    At  one  of  these  meetings, 
held  in  the  autumn  of  18 15,  Mr.  Wilks  announced  the 
conversion  of  Pomare,  the  King  of  Tahiti,  and  many 
of  his  subjects  to  Christianity.    After  a  long  period  of 
waiting,  the  natives  had  become  Bitre  Attia,  or  praying 
people,  and  in  consequence  there  was  a  great  need  for 
additional  missionaries.     Mr.  Wilks  in  communicating 
these  good  tidings,  emphasised  the  call  for  helpers,  and 
John  felt  a  secret  response  to  this  appeal.    The  desire, 
at  first  hidden,  then  cherished  as  a  remote  possibility, 
grew  stronger,  until  he  felt  himself  called  indeed  of 
God  to  this  work  ;  and,  after  adequate  enquiry,  Mr. 
Wilks  counselled  him  to  write  to  the  Directors  of  the 
London    Missionary    Society.      His   application    was 


A   WORD   WITH   MANY   ECHOES.  21 

made  in  July,  1816,  and  in  this  interesting  document, 
after  describing  his  anxiety  and  care  in  examining  his 
motives,  he  says,  with  characteristic  conscientiousness 
and  sincerity,  "I  have  endeavoured  to  be  as  frank  and 
plain  as  possible.  If  this,  and  the  account  which  the 
Rev.  Mathew  Wilks  can  give  of  me,  should  not  meet 
with  your  conscientious  approbation,  I  hope,  pray, 
and  trust,  that  you  will  on  no  account,  for  the  sake  of 
my  soul,  offer  me  the  least  encouragement."  He  was, 
however,  immediately  accepted,  and  Mr.  Tonkin 
released  him  willingly  from  the  seven  months  that 
yet  remained  of  his  apprenticeship. 

Until  his  ordination,  which  took  place  in  Surrey 
Chapel,  on  September  the  3rd,  18 16,  he  read  and 
studied  under  the  direction  of  the  Rev.  Mathew 
Wilks.  With  eight  companions,  he  was  solemnly  set 
apart  for  missionary  labour.  Henceforth  his  motto 
might  well  have  been  Dr.  Judson's  famous  words, 
"devoted  for  life,"  for  such  he  really  was.  At  this 
solemn  meeting  Dr.  Waugh  thus  addressed  John 
Williams  :  "  Go,  dear  young  brother,  and  if  thy  tongue 
cleave  to  the  roof  of  thy  mouth,  let  it  be  with  teaching 
poor  sinners  of  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  if  thy 
arm  drop  from  thy  shoulder,  let  it  be  by  knocking 
at  men's  hearts  to  gain  admission  for  Him  there." 
Robert  Moffat  was  one  of  the  eight  new  missionaries, 
and  it  was  at  first  intended  that  these  two  should  be 
sent  out  together.  But  Dr.  Waugh  visited  Mr.  Wilks, 
and  expressed  his  opinion  that  "  tha'  twa  callants 
were  ower  young  ta  gang  t'gether."  So  Moffat  went 
to  Africa,  and  John  Williams  to  his  wonderful  "  enter- 
prises "  in  the  South  Seas.  But  he  did  not  go  out 
alone  ;  his  young  wife  accompanied  him  ;  of  her  some 
account  must  now  be  given. 

The  Mongols,  we  are  told,  strangely  believe   that 


22  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

there  is  a  race  of  half  men  existing  somewhere  upon 
this  earth  ;  two  individuals  of  which  must  be  united 
in  order  to  constitute  a  complete  being.  This  may 
stand  as  a  parable  ;  even  a  Christian  man  is  incom- 
plete until  he  is  happily  married.  Much  of  the 
unhappiness  of  life  arises  from  the  fact  that  some- 
times the  wrong  halves  are  united  ;  John  Williams 
happily  found  the  fitting  and  completing  half  to  his 
own  life  in  Mary  Chauner.  Of  this  lady,  one  who  was 
well  able  to  judge  said,  "  In  Christian  heroism  she 
proved  the  equal  of  her  intrepid  husband,  and  in 
patient  endurance  his  superior.  It  is  not  flattery  but 
simple  justice  to  say  that  she  was  in  all  points  worthy 
of  the  honoured  man  to  whose  happiness  and  success 
she  so  largely  contributed."  Mary  Chauner,  at  the 
time  of  her  first  acquaintance  with  John  Williams, 
resided  with  her  mother  in  Spencer  Street,  Goswell 
Road,  London.  Her  father  had  once  possessed  con- 
siderable landed  property  near  Cheadle,  in  Stafford- 
shire, where  his  ancestors  had  resided  since  the  Norman 
conquest.  A  law  suit  about  some  extensive  estates 
near  Lichfield,  to  which  he  was  heir,  exhausted  nearly 
all  his  patrimony.  While  in  London  upon  business 
connected  with  this  action,  he  visited  the  Whitfield 
Tabernacle,  and  heard  John  Hyatt  preach.  His 
glowing  account  of  the  sermon  inspired  his  wife  and 
daughter  with  a  great  desire  to  hear  this  remarkable 
preacher.  Their  wishes  were  gratified  in  an  unex- 
pected manner,  for,  in  the  year  1808,  Denston  Hall, 
their  ancestral  home,  was  sold,  and  they  therefore 
came  to  London.  Mary  Chauner,  the  youngest 
daughter  of  this  family,  had  long  been  the  subject  of 
deep  religious  impressions,  which,  although  not  saving 
at  that  time,  were  not  lost ;  and  upon  her  coming  to 
London    they   were   deepened,   and    she    became    a 


A   WORD   WITH    MANY   ECHOES.  23 

member  of  the  Tabernacle.  Like  her  future  husband, 
she  caught  the  missionary  fervour  of  Mr.  Wilks,  and 
her  constant  prayer  at  this  time  was  "  that  she  might 
be  sent  to  the  heathen  to  tell  them  of  the  love  of 
Christ." 

On  the  29th  of  October,  18 16,  she  was  married  to 
John  Williams.  Two  portraits  of  the  bride  and 
bridegroom,  taken  at  this  time,  have  been  preserved 
in  the  London  Missionary  Society's  Museum.  In 
these  the  bride  is  shown  with  a  slight  girlish  figure, 
and  small  features,  and  fine  eyes  ;  her  mouth  might 
perhaps  be  considered  by  the  over-critical  as  a 
blemish,  but  if  it  be  so,  it  is  amply  atoned  for  by  the 
sweetness  of  the  face.  Gentleness  and  strength  are 
suggested  by  the  winsome  features.  Her  husband 
appears  indeed  "  ower  young,"  but  there  is  an  expres- 
sion of  attractiveness  about  his  profile  that  in  some 
degree  accounts  for  the  strong  friendship  that  he 
inspired. 

On  the  17th  of  November,  18 16,  the  missionaries 
embarked  in  the  Harriet  for  Sydney,  from  which 
port  they  had  to  re-ship  for  the  South  Seas. 

Almost  immediately  after  his  going  on  board, 
Mr.  Williams  busied  himself  in  making  his  cabin  as 
comfortable  as  might  be.  Writing  to  his  sister  from 
Gravesend,  he  calls  the  ship  "  his  home."  While  on 
shore  he  had  been  asked  the  time,  and  had  replied, 
"  I  have  left  my  watch  at  honied  "  I  am  glad  that 
you  find  the  ship  to  be  so,"  was  the  answer.  "  And  it 
is  so,"  added  Mr.  Williams.  In  this  ability  to  make 
for  himself  a  home  wherever  he  might  be,  no  doubt 
lay  one  of  the  secrets  of  his  happiness  and  success. 
It  is  a  fine  test  of  character,  as  to  whether  a  man  is 
desolate  or  at  home  ;  for  home  is  rather  a  reflection  of 
the    spirit's    own    light    than    a   product  of  external 


24 


JOHN   WILLIAMS. 


things.  Such  men  as  John  Williams  carry  the 
elements  of  home  within  their  own  bosoms,  and 
therefore  attract  and  help  less  fortunate  spirits. 
Therefore  do  thou  be  a  home-maker  wherever  thy  lot 
may  be  cast. 


<^ 


'^.J 


CHAPTER   II. 


A   STRANGER   WITH   MANY   FRIENDS. 


1816-1822. 

"  He  gave  to  God  his  manhood's  prime, 
With  a  stout  heart  and  true." 

"  And  his  own  heart  was  still  so  young, 
It  lighted  up  his  cheek  ; 
Some  lovely  story  charmed  his  tongue, 
When  he  assayed  to  speak." 

Paxton  Hood. 

JOHN  WILLIAMS,  during  his  voyage  to  the 
South  Seas,  carefully  examined  every  part  of 
the  vessel  in  which  he  sailed.  He  probably  did 
not  know,  at  that  time,  how  invaluable  was  the 
knowledge  which  he  thus  acquired.  As  little  could 
he  have  imagined  the  great  enterprises  which  this 
information  would  suggest  to  him.  This  exercise  of 
his  powers  of  minute  observation  and  the  consequent 
training  of  his  memory,  were  undoubtedly  of  incalcul- 
able value  to  him.  Thus  unconsciously  fitting  him- 
self for  his  peculiar  form  of  service,  the  voyage  to 
Rio  de  Janeiro  was  made  with  profit,  and  happily 
without  a  storm.     At  Rio,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Threlkeld — 

25 


26  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

his  future  colleagues  at  Raiatea — joined  him.  Here, 
also,  Mr.  Williams  was  deeply  affected  when  he 
observed  the  abject  superstition  and  degradation  of 
the  people.  At  Rio,  he  saw  for  the  first  time  human 
beings  exposed  in  booths  for  sale  like  cattle.  He  was 
so  distressed  at  the  dreadful  spectacle  that  he  went 
home  and  wept  bitterly.  His  sympathy  with  this 
"  human  soot  "  nearly  cost  him  his  life.  The  freedom 
of  his  utterances  respecting  slavery  enraged  one  man 
so  much  that  he  attempted  to  stab  Mr.  Williams. 
The  latter,  however,  happily  eluded  the  blow,  but 
he  was  too  prudent  to  venture  upon  shore  again 
in  such  a  place  as  Rio.  The  mission  party,  after 
leaving  Rio,  sailed  for  Sydney,  which  port  they 
reached  on  the  2nd  of  May,  1817.  After  re-shipping, 
they  sighted  Tahiti  on  the  i6th  of  the  following  ^ 
November ;  and  landed  at  Eimeo,  a  neighbouring 
island,  which  was  the  missionary  settlement,  on  the 
17th.  Like  all  visitors,  Mr.  Williams  greatly  admired 
the  natural  beauties  of  the  island,  but  he  was  still 
more  delighted  with  the  people,  who  had  so  recently 
been  steeped  in  heathenism.  Like  Robert  Raikes, 
he  chiefly  delighted  in  botanising  on  human  nature  ; 
imperfect  as  the  people  necessarily  were,  an  immense 
improvement  had  been  effected  among  them  in  a 
very  short  space  of  time.  But  Mr.  Williams  was  too 
unceasingly  active  and  practical  to  be  satisfied  with 
interested  observation;  his  every-day  working  sympathy 
detected  the  fact  that  a  vessel  was  the  first  requisite  of 
the  natives.  One  had  indeed  been  laid  down  three  years 
before,  and  it  was  resolved  to  complete  her  at  once. 
Mr.  Williams  undertook  the  iron  work,  and  by  eight 
or  ten  days  of  energetic  labour  she  was  finished. 
Pomare,  the  king,  named  her  the  Hazvies,  and 
employed  her  to  trade  between  his  island  and  New 


A   STRANGER   WITH    MANY    FRIENDS.  2/ 

South  Wales.  This  Hawies  was  the  first  of  five 
vessels  that  were  constructed  by  Mr.  Williams  during 
his  missionary  career,  a  truly  wonderful  achievement 
when  it  is  remembered  that  not  only  had  he  never 
received  instruction  in  shipbuilding,  but  that  he  had 
not  even  examined  a  ship  previous  to  his  voyage  in 
the  Harriet.  It  is  not  only  a  proof  that  "  things  out 
of  hope  are  compassed  oft  by  venturing,"  but  it  is 
an  example  of  concentration  similar  to  that  of  the 
ancient  king,  who  "in  every  work  that  he  began  in 
the  service  of  the  house  of  God  .  .  .  did  it  with  all 
his  heart,  and  prospered." 

Nor  was  Mr.  Williams  less  successful  in  studying 
the  native  language.  He  chose,  it  is  true,  a  method 
of  his  own  ;  for,  instead  of  poring  over  grammar  and 
lexicon,  he  moved  freely  among  the  people,  talking 
and  listening  to  their  conversation.  To  the  great 
astonishment  of  his  seniors,  who  assigned  three  years 
as  a  reasonable  period  for  the  acquisition,  he  was 
able  by  this  method  to  preach  in  Tahitian  before 
ten  months  had  elapsed.  During  this  season  of 
acquiring  the  tool  of  language,  his  eldest  son  John, 
afterwards  British  Consul  in  Samoa,  was  born.  This 
was  on  the  9th  of  January,  1818. 

While  John  Williams  was  thus  studying,  and  by 
working  preparing  himself  for  his  as  yet  unknown 
sphere  of  work,  events  had  been  as  certainly  making 
ready  a  place  for  him.  Several  chiefs  from  the  Society 
Islands  had  long  before  come  to  assist  Pomare  to 
recover  the  sovereignty  which  had  been  wrested  from 
him.  They  had,  during  their  absence  from  home, 
acquired  some  knowledge  of  the  Gospel.  After  their 
return  to  their  native  islands,  a  vessel  had  been 
driven  by  a  tempest  from  its  moorings  at  Eimeo,  and 
had  reached   Raiatea.      The  missionaries  who  were 


28  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

on  board  had  taught  the  people,  already  disposed  to 
listen  by  what  their  chiefs  had  heard  at  Tahiti,  and 
in  consequence  a  chapel  had  been  erected  at  Raiatea 
for  Divine  worship.  These  chiefs  now  came  to 
Tahiti  and  asked  for  teachers,  and,  in  response  to  this 
delightful  request,  Messrs.  Ellis,  Williams,  and  Ors- 
mond,  with  their  wives,  removed  from  Eimeo  to 
Huahine.  This  island  is  the  most  easterly  of  the 
Society  group  ;  and  as,  therefore,  by  the  trade  winds, 
it  is  accessible  from  all  the  islands,  it  became  the 
headquarters  of  the  new  mission. 

Mr.  Ellis  at  once  erected  a  printing-press  at 
Huahine,  and  this  naturally  became  one  of  the  most 
important  departments  of  the  operations  conducted 
in  the  Society  Islands.  The  books  printed  at  Huahine 
circulated  freely  ;  some  of  them  reached  Raiatea,  and, 
falling  into  the  king's  hands,  induced  him  to  visit 
Huahine  and  solicit  teachers  for  his  people.  The 
island  of  Raiatea  is  both  the  centre  and  chief  of  the 
group.  Its  kings  had,  for  a  long  time  previously, 
exercised  a  sovereignty  over  their  neighbours,  more  or 
less  acknowledged,  as  the  king  of  Raiatea  was  a 
strong  or  a  weak  one.  It  was,  moreover,  the  religious 
capital  and  the  abode  of  the  gods  ;  a  kind  of  Poly- 
nesian London  and  Rome  combined.  The  centre  of 
the  island  was  a  huge  mountain  pile,  in  some  parts 
swelling  up  to  the  height  of  two  thousand  feet ; 
around  this  majestic  mass  a  fertile  belt  of  land  fringed 
the  water's  edge.  The  population  at  this  time  did 
not,  it  is  computed,  number  more  than  1300  persons. 
Realising  the  immense  importance  of  Raiatea,  it  was 
resolved  that,  though  Mr.  Ellis  and  Mr.  Orsmond 
must  remain  at  Huahine,  Messrs.  Williams  and  Threl- 
keld  should  accompany  the  King  of  Raiatea  to  his 
beautiful  island. 


29 


A   STRANGER   WITH    MANY   FRIENDS.  3 1 

Tamatoa,  the  king,  had  already  endured  some 
suffering  on  account  of  his  new  faith.  While  at 
Tahiti  he  had  justly  expected  a  conflict  with  the 
votaries  of  the  old  superstition,  and  had  asked, 
"  Suppose  the  idolaters  reject  my  offers  and  are 
obstinate  for  war,  must  we  carry  peace  until  the 
spear  rests  on  our  heads  ?  "  He  had  been  advised  to 
act  merely  on  the  defensive,  and  upon  his  arrival 
at  Raiatea  he  followed  this  wise  counsel.  The 
idolaters,  enraged  at  his  having  forsaken  the  worship 
of  idols,  stimulated  and  excited  each  other  to  expel 
him,  using  such  expressions  as,  "  Let  him  not  have  a 
landing  place  for  his  canoe ; "  "  Let  us  expel  the 
Word  of  God  from  our  land  while  it  is  young." 

Tamatoa,  while  cautiously  avoiding  all  interference 
with  the  religion  of  his  under  chiefs,  started  upon  a 
tour  through  his  kingdom.  During  this  journey  he 
permitted  his  wife  and  some  of  her  attendants  to  eat 
pork,  which  food  the  heathen  regarded  as  sacred  food, 
and  therefore  unfit  for  women,  who  were  esteemed 
polluting  and  vile.  The  excitement  which  this  act 
caused  induced  some  of  the  heathen  to  poison  a  pig 
in  order  to  destroy  the  Christians.  This  vile  project 
happily  failed,  and  the  leader  of  the  heathen  party, 
thinking  that  the  time  for  war  had  not  arrived, 
quieted  his  adherents  by  saying,  "The  fruit  is  not  yet 
ripe."  Tamatoa's  wife  then  ventured  so  far  as  to  eat 
turtle,  a  yet  more  sacred  food,  but  even  this  enormity 
only  evoked  the  remark,  "  The  fruit  is  not  yet  ripe." 
At  length  some  of  the  king's  servants,  while  making 
a  canoe,  took  shelter  from  the  rain  in  an  idol  house. 
Being  cold,  they  helped  themselves  to  the  cloth 
wrapped  round  the  idol.  The  king  was  unaware  of 
this  adventurous  act,  until  he  saw  written  upon  the 
sand,  "We  were  warm  in  the  devil's  cloth."     When 


33  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

he  discovered  the  meaning  of  the  phrase,  Tamatoa 
was  extremely  angry,  but  his  followers  pacified  him  by 
saying  of  the  cloth,  "  Perhaps  it  was  given  to  us  by 
God."  One  of  these  men  afterwards  sold  a  piece  of  the 
idol  cloth  to  a  man  who  was  ignorant  as  to  whence  his 
purchase  had  been  obtained.  He,  putting  the  cloth 
around  him,  walked  through  a  heathen  district  with  it 
displayed.  The  heathen  chief  now  said,  on  hearing 
of  this  act,  "  The  fruit  is  ripe,"  and  took  up  arms 
immediately.  Notwithstanding  their  numbers,  the 
heathen  were  overpowered,  and  though  they  had 
openly  threatened  to  perpetrate  the  most  vile  cruelties 
upon  the  Christians,  after  the  easy  victory  that  they 
had  anticipated,  they  were  treated  with  great  kind- 
ness by  the  victors.  This  predisposed  them  to  regard 
the  Gospel  with  great  favour,  and,  without  doubt, 
rendered  the  task  of  the  missionaries  much  less 
difficult  than  it  would  otherwise  have  been.  When, 
therefore,  on  the  nth  of  September,  1818,  the  mission 
party  landed,  they  met  with  a  cordial  reception.  Mr. 
Williams  often  said,  "  Kindness  is  the  key  to  the 
human  heart,"  and  he  saw  a  proof  of  it  when  he 
reached  Raiatea ;  and  he  himself  supplied  many 
illustrations  of  this  truth  in  his  after  work  there  and 
in  other  islands.  It  struck  him  when  landing  as  a 
little  singular  that  one  of  his  native  companions, 
feeling  hungry,  entered  a  house,  and  without  ceremony 
snatched  away  the  food  which  a  Raiatean  was  eating. 
This  was  permitted,  and  was  even  considered  good 
manners  in  Raiatea,  so  singularly  do  nations  differ 
as  to  what  constitutes  propriety. 

The  spirit  in  which  Mr.  Williams  undertook  what 
was  to  be  a  work  developing  into  greater  enterprises, 
may  be  seen  in  a  letter  that  he  sent  home  soon  after 
his  landing:  "  My  dearest  parents,"  said  he,  "grieve  not 


A   STRANGER  WITH   MANY   FRIENDS.  33 

at  my  absence,  for  I  am  engaged  in  the  best  of 
services,  for  the  best  of  masters,  and  upon  the  best 
of  terms ;  but  rather  rejoice  in  having  a  child  upon 
whom  the  Lord  has  conferred  this  honour." 

In  his  new  station,  he  displayed  his  enviable  talent 
of  rapidly  acquiring  and  retaining  friends.  His 
sunny,  affectionate  nature  exerted  an  influence  as 
attractive  to  the  Raiateans  as  it  had  been  in  England ; 
indeed  the  work  that  he  accomplished  would  have 
been  utterly  impossible  without  the  mighty  leverage 
of  himself  There  was  much  need  for  love  in  his 
heart,  even  to  remain  among  the  natives ;  and  much 
more  was,  of  course,  required  to  work  for  them,  for 
they  were  unspeakably  degraded,  and  appeared  incur- 
ably indolent.  A  huntsman,  whom  a  minister  once 
met  in  a  railway  carriage,  accounted  for  his  many  diffi- 
cult leaps  by  saying  that,  before  jumping,  "  he  sent  his 
heart  over  first,  and  then  a  ditch  was  no  difficulty." 
John  Williams  adopted  a  similar  method,  and  thus 
was  able  to  accomplish  what  otherwise  would  have 
been  impossible  and  intensely  repulsive.  The  physical 
labour  that  visiting  the  natives  involved  was  also 
extremely  exhaustive,  and  added  much  to  his  diffi- 
culties. The  natives  lived  apart  in  jealous  isolation  ; 
small  families  being  scattered  in  irregular  patches 
throughout  the  island,  with  no  means  of  communica- 
tion except  dangerous  mountain  paths.  Knowing 
that  men  can  only  improve  in  communities,  and  that 
the  force  of  bad  customs  cannot  be  broken,  nor  can 
teaching  be  imparted  successfully  without  the  aid  of 
fellowship,  Mr.  Williams  endeavoured  to  gather  the 
people  into  a  society. 

As  a  preparatory  step  towards  this  end,  he  induced 
them  to  form  themselves  into  a  settlement ;  and,  after 
a  site  had  been  agreed  upon,  he  set  them  an  example 

C 


34  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

by  commencing  to  build  a  house  for  himself.  This 
house  he  intended  to  be  as  an  education  of  the  people, 
an  appreciable  illustration  of  the  practical  benefits  of 
the  Gospel.  It  was,  therefore,  as  well  built  and  as 
well  furnished  as  was  possible  under  the  circumstances. 
Happily,  the  labour  thus  bestowed  was  not  lost  ;  the 
house  accomplished  all  that  Mr.  Williams  expected 
from  it.  It  appealed  to  the  self-respect  of  the  natives, 
and  presented  the  most  ignorant  with  an  evidence  of 
Christianity  that  they  could  understand  and  appreci- 
ate. The  king  and  others  commenced  to  build 
houses  in  imitation  of  it ;  without  a  doubt  this  building 
was  of  great  service  in  the  training  of  the  people. 

This  remarkable  structure  was  sixty  feet  long,  and 
thirty  feet  broad  ;  and  its  seven  rooms  were  arranged 
— four  in  the  front  of  the  house,  with  three  rooms 
behind  them.  The  wooden  framework  was  wattled 
and  plastered  ;  and,  from  the  coral,  Mr.  Williams 
obtained  an  orange  and  grey  colouring  to  beautify 
the  walls.  The  furniture  within  the  house  was  also 
entirely  the  product  of  his  own  skill ;  and  the  sofas, 
chairs  and  tables,  which  he  himself  made,  suggested 
wants  to  the  people  of  which  they  had  been  pre- 
viously ignorant.  Under  his  stimulative  energy  the 
settlement  grew  so  rapidly  that,  at  the  end  of  twelve 
months,  the  houses  extended  for  two  miles  along 
the  sea-shore,  nearly  a  thousand  natives  being  thus 
brought  together,  to  their  no  small  advantage. 

John  Williams'  insatiable  appetite  for  work  now 
prompted  him  to  build  a  boat,  which  he  intended 
should  be  sixteen  feet  long.  This  boat,  when  finished, 
had  scarcely  a  nail  in  it,  the  planks  being  tied  together 
by  native  cord.  Mr.  Williams  intended  using  the 
boat  in  order  to  visit  Tahaa,  a  small  island  near 
Raiatea,  and  within  the  same  reef     His  achievement 


A   STRANGER   WITH   MANY   FRIENDS.  35 

showed  the  natives  that  they  could  also  build  boats 
without  nails,  and  many  of  them  accordingly  resolved 
to  make  the  attempt.  In  order  to  encourage  them, 
Mr.  Williams  promised  fifty  nails  to  the  man  who 
first  laid  down  a  boat.  It  was  a  great  pleasure  to  see 
the  natives  working  at  all ;  for  besides  being  naturally 
indolent,  the  fertility  of  the  land  induced  sloth  ;  their 
few  wants  had  been  easily  satisfied  without  any  more 
toil  than  was  required  to  pluck  the  fruit  from  the 
trees,  or  in  setting  a  few  taro  or  sweet  potatoes. 

But  being  induced  to  work  was  not  the  only,  much 
less  the  chief,  benefit  that^the  Raiateans  derived  from 
their  teachers.  Of  the  spiritual  part  of  his  work,  to 
which  all  other  efforts  were  subsidiary,  Mr.  Williams 
said,  "  My  work  is  my  delight.  In  it  I  desire  to 
spend  and  to  be  spent.  I  think  and  hope  that  I  have 
no  other  desire  in  my  soul  than  to  be  the  means  of 
winning  sinners  for  Christ.  My  anxiety  is  that  my 
tongue  may  be  ever  engaged  in  proclaiming  this 
salvation,  and  that  my  words  and  actions  may  be 
always  pointing  to  the  Cross!' 

His  pointing  to  the  Cross  was  happily  not  without 
saving  results,  for  many  of  the  natives  became  inter- 
ested in  the  Gospel.  Some  of  their  questions  are 
rather  singular,  but  also  deeply  interesting  as  showing 
the  first  action  of  the  mind  under  new  and  saving 
truth.  For  example,  one  man  inquired,  "  Who  were 
the  scribes  ?  "  and  wondered  if  they  were  secretaries 
of  a  Missionary  Society.  Another  man,  who  sought 
comfort  from  the  missionaries  because  he  was  harassed 
by  evil  thoughts,  mentioned  the  fact  that  he  had  said 
mentally,  "  If  Satan  would  approach  me  in  the  like- 
ness of  man  I  would  fight  with  him,  and  stone  him  to 
death."  He  was  afraid  that  he  had  committed  sin  in 
entertaining  such  a  thought.      Another  man   found 


36  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

that  his  religious  difficulties  were  chiefly  in  respect  to 
prayer  ;  and  he  asked  if  it  was  quite  right  to  say  as 
he  did,  "  O  Jehovah,  give  Thy  Word  into  my  heart — 
all  Thy  Word  ;  and  cover  it  up  there,  that  it  may  not 
be  forgotten  by  me." 

The  joy  naturally  inspired  by  this  new  interest  in 

the  Gospel  was  somewhat   checked    by  the  sudden 

death  of  Mrs.   Orsmond.      She  had  come  with  her 

husband  from  Huahine  to  stay  for  a  time  at  Raiatea, 

when    she   was   thus   unexpectedly  removed   to   the 

higher   service   of  heaven.      The   solemnity   of  this 

bereavement  probably  incited  the  survivors  to  more 

earnest  efforts.     The  missionaries  much  lamented  the 

lawlessness  and  want  of  social  morality  among  their 

people.    As  their  object  was  to  render  life  more  worth 

living,  they  attempted  to  remedy  these  evils,  but  they 

found  that  the  task  was  a  most  difficult  one.      At 

length,  in  September,  1819,  the  chiefs  were  induced  to 

hold   a  meeting   in   order  to  consider  the  question. 

After  much  deliberation,  the  meeting  agreed  to  insist 

upon  the  sacredness  of  the  marriage  bond,  as  being 

the  basis  of  social    and    national   order.      To   some 

persistent  offenders,  the  chiefs  said,  "  You  had  better 

go  and  serve  the  devil  again.     Let  not  this  land  be 

stained  with  sin."      The  arrival   of  several   hundred 

copies  of   the   gospel   was    of  great    benefit   at   this 

juncture  ;    and  the  natives,  in  beginning  a  new  life, 

incited     one    another    to    learn     reading.       As    an 

instance  of  the  craving  for  instruction,  it  is  related 

that  one  day  after  the  school-bell  had  rung,  a  Raiatean 

found  a  man  sitting  idly  at  home.     He  said  that  he 

had  not  been  able  to  get  beyond  b-a,  Ba,  and  that  he 

did   not   mean   to   try  again.     His   friend   thereupon 

reminded  him  that  while  fishing  he  always  concealed 

the  fish-hook,  and  observed,  "  The  devil  has  a  fish- 


A   STRANGER   WITH   MANY   FRIENDS.  3/ 

hook  in  that  evil  thought  of  yours.  Therefore  have 
nothing  to  do  with  it,  but  let  us  go  immediately  and 
learn." 

In  addition  to  this  desire  to  learn,  several  encourag- 
ing and  important  events  occurred  during  this  year. 
The  first,  and  most  important  of  these,  was  the  forma- 
tion of  an  auxiliary  missionary  society.  At  the  end 
of  twelve  months  it  was  found  that  ;^500  had  been 
contributed  by  the  natives  for  the  purpose  of  "causing 
the  Word  of  God  to  grow,"  to  quote  their  own  expres- 
sion. This  liberality  was  general ;  the  king  himself, 
and  his  wife,  prepared  arrowroot  with  their  own 
hands,  as  a  contribution  for  this  purpose.  "We 
would  not  give  that  to  God,"  said  Tamatoa,  "  upon 
which  we  bestowed  no  labour ;  but  would  rather 
prepare  it  with  our  own  hands,  and  then  we  can  say 
as  David  did,  '  Of  our  own  proper  good  have  we 
given  unto  Thee.' " 

Thus  ended,  with  signs  of  progress,  the  first  year 
of  missionary  work  at  Raiatea. 

But  while  John  Williams  thus  threw  himself  with  his 
utmost  ability  into  the  work  that  was  nearest  to  him, 
he  was  not  content  with  the  work  in  Raiatea.  "  Our 
hearts  comprehend  all  the  ends  of  the  earth,"  he 
said,  and  his  life  becomes  deeply  interesting  from  this 
time,  as  the  work  grew  into  higher  service,  until  all 
the  islands  of  the  Pacific  became  his  diocese  and  care. 

In  consequence  of  the  prosperity  now  crowning  his 
work  in  Raiatea,  John  Williams  commenced  the 
erection  of  a  new  chapel  for  his  congregation.  This 
edifice  was  191  feet  long,  and  44  feet  broad,  but  40 
feet  of  the  length  of  the  building  was  partitioned 
off  as  a  courthouse.  Every  part  of  the  building 
amazed  the  natives,  but  they  were  especially  aston- 
ished at  the  turned  chandeliers,  which  were,  of  course, 


38  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

the  production  of  Mr.  Williams.  In  them,  cocoa-nut 
shells  were  employed  as  lamps.  On  the  nth  of  May, 
1820,  this  chapel  was  first  opened  for  Divine  worship, 
when  2400  persons  assembled  within  its  walls.  The 
next  day  witnessed  an  equally  important  triumph  of 
missionary  labours  ;  for  in  a  national  assembly  a  new 
code  of  laws  was  formally  adopted  by  unanimous 
consent,  and  the  king's  brother  was  appointed  as 
chief  judge  to  enforce  the  observance  of  these  edicts. 
Stimulated  by  this  reform,  to  obtain  which  he  had 
long  been  steadily  working,  Mr.  Williams  turned  his 
attention  to  promoting  profitable  employment  for  the 
natives,  who  were  now  secured  from  robbery.  He 
commenced  the  cultivation  of  the  sugar  cane,  which 
is  indigenous  to  the  islands,  and  also  erected  a  sugar 
mill  for  native  use. 

But  as  no  man  can  hope  to  continue  good-doing 
without  thereby  arousing  the  enmity  of  the  wicked, 
Mr.  Williams  found  that  some  of  the  heathen  had 
formed  a  plot  against  his  life.  After  a  visit  to 
Borabora,  an  island  about  twenty  miles  south  of 
Raiatea,  he  experienced  one  of  the  many  remarkable 
preservations  which  he  regarded  as  a  proof  of  the 
watchful  care  of  God.  Every  second  or  third  Sabbath 
he  spent  at  Tahaa,  an  island  eight  miles  distant, 
going  thither  on  the  Saturday.  Four  of  the  men  who 
rowed  him  agreed,  when  about  four  miles  from 
Raiatea,  to  throw  Mr.  Williams  into  the  sea,  while 
their  comrades  killed  Mr.  Threlkeld  and  Tamatoa. 
But  on  the  Wednesday  previous  to  the  date  fixed 
upon  for  this  murder,  Mr.  Williams  repaired  the  boat 
and  painted  her.  Owing  to  an  accident,  the  paint 
was  not  dry  on  the  Saturday,  and,  notwithstanding 
the  entreaties  of  his  men,  Mr.  Williams  decided  to 
defer  the  voyage.     The  murderers  now  determined  to 


A   STRANGER   WITH    MANY   FRIENDS.  39 

kill  him  at  home,  and  the  next  day,  a  man  wearing  a 
pair  of  trousers  as  a  jacket,  and  brandishing  a  carving 
knife,  came  to  Mr.  Williams'  house  and  shouted, 
"  Turn  out  the  hog !  Let  us  cut  his  throat."  The 
door  fortunately  was  locked,  and  the  victim  did  not 
feel  inclined  to  move.  When  at  length  he  opened 
the  door,  a  friend  arrived  just  in  time  to  prevent  his 
exposing  himself  to  peril :  "  You  are  the  pig  he  is 
calling  for,"  he  said,  "  you  will  be  dead  in  a  minute." 
The  four  ringleaders  in  this  plot  were  sentenced  to 
die,  but  at  the  intercession  of  the  missionaries  their 
lives  were  spared.  The  distress  of  Mrs.  Williams, 
when  she  discovered  the  danger  to  which  her  husband 
had  been  exposed,  caused  the  premature  birth  of  her 
second  child,  who  died  the  day  after  it  saw  the  light. 

In  the  same  eventful  month  of  May,  1820,  the  first 
annual  meeting  of  the  Native  Missionary  Society  was 
held,  in  the  new  chapel.  At  this  gathering,  one  con- 
vert remarked,  "  A  little  property  given  with  the 
heart  becomes  big  property  in  the  sight  of  God." 
Another  exhorted  his  friends  thus — "  Let  us  now 
hold  fast  the  Word  of  God,  and  die  with  it  in  our 
hands." 

At  the  end  of  May,  the  first  baptism  was  adminis- 
tered ;  at  this  service  seventy  persons  professed  their 
faith  in  Christ,  and  their  resolution  to  serve  Him. 
Yet — as  no  worker,  however  successful,  is  without  his 
seasons  of  depression,  we  find  that,  on  the  7th  of  the 
following  July,  Mr.  Williams  wrote  to  the  Directors, 
expressing  his  desire  to  leave  Raiatea.  He  was  very 
popular  there,  but,  conscious  of  as  yet  dormant 
capacities,  he  felt  himself  cramped  by  the  smallness 
of  the  island,  and  complained  that  he  had  not  enough 
work  to  do  in  Raiatea.  This  restlessness  did  not 
arise   from   waning  zeal,   or   from   mere   craving  for 


40  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

change.  "  I  have  given  myself,"  he  wrote,  "  wholly  to 
the  Lord,  and  desire  to  spend  my  entire  life  in  His 
service.  I  have  no  other  desire  in  my  soul  but  to  live 
and  die  in  the  work  of  the  Saviour."  This  consecra- 
tion probably  prevented  his  quitting  his  post,  and 
when,  five  months  after  the  date  of  this  letter  Mr. 
Orsmond  removed  to  Borabora,  more  work  necessarily 
devolved  upon  Mr.  Williams. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  year  182 1,  he  arranged 
a  conference  for  the  purpose  of  deepening  the  spiri- 
tual life  among  the  people  of  his  charge.  Three 
hundred  school  children  were  then  examined  as  to 
their  religious  knowledge,  and  afterwards  they  were 
provided  with  a  substantial  dinner.  Before  partaking 
of  the  repast,  the  children  marched  in  procession, 
carrying  flags  of  their  own  making,  upon  which  they 
had  written  such  mottoes  as,  "  What  a  blessing  the 
Gospel  is,"  and,  "  Had  it  not  been  for  the  Gospel  we 
should  have  been  destroyed  as  soon  as  we  were  born." 
Previous  to  the  adoption  of  Christianity,  infanticide 
had  been  common  in  the  islands.  It  was  indeed  a 
trade  or  profession  to  destroy  newly  born  children, 
and  some  of  the  methods  employed  were  almost 
incredibly  cruel.  At  the  examination  of  the  children, 
an  old  chief  rose,  and  said  to  the  King,  "  Let  me 
speak.  I  must  speak.  Oh  that  I  had  known  that  the 
Gospel  was  coming !  Oh  that  I  had  known  that 
these  blessings  were  in  store  for  us !  Then  I  should 
have  saved  my  children,  and  they  would  have  been 
among  this  happy  group  repeating  these  precious 
truths.  I  shall  die  childless,  although  I  have  been  the 
father  of  nineteen  children." 

Two  months  after  this  gathering,  in  March,  182 1, 
Auuru,  the  chief  of  Rurutu,  an  island  300  miles  south 
of  Raiatea,  reached  the  mission  station.     A  pestilence 


A  STRANGER  WITH   MANY   FRIENDS.  4I 

had  broken  out  in  his  land,  and  the  two  chiefs  of 
Rurutu  had  each  built  a  canoe,  in  which  they  had 
fled  with  as  many  people  as  their  boats  could  contain. 
Auuru  spent  three  months  with  Mr.  Williams,  and 
then  returned  home,  taking  two  teachers  with  him. 
In  a  few  weeks,  the  discarded  idols  of  Rurutu  were 
brought  in  triumph  to  Raiatea.  Encouraged  by  this 
fact,  the  contributions  of  the  Native  Missionary 
Society  increased  so  much  that  in  May  they  realised, 
after  paying  all  expenses,  the  princely  sum  of  ;^i8oo, 
the  gift  of  those  who  so  recently  were  without  any 
property  whatever.  About  this  time  the  converts  in 
Raiatea  were  united  into  a  Christian  Church,  being 
associated  together  upon  Congregational  principles. 

Mr.  Williams  had  now  lost  all  desire  to  leave 
Raiatea,  but  a  distressing  malady  seized  upon  him, 
which  defied  the  medical  skill  of  his  friends,  and 
rendered  a  change  imperatively  necessary.  His 
people  were  deeply  grieved  at  the  idea  even  of  a 
temporary  separation,  but  to  their  amazement  and 
delight,  in  answer  to  prayer,  the  malady  subsided 
without  the  use  of  any  means.  The  news  of  the 
death  of  John  Williams'  mother  reached  him  soon 
after  this  event.  She  had  passed  away,  rather 
suddenly,  on  the  23rd  of  September,  18 19.  "You 
seem  to  me,"  he  wrote  to  his  friends,  "  now  like  a  ship 
tossed  about  in  a  tempest  without  a  pilot.  Oh  thou 
brightest  of  examples,  thou  lover  of  Christ,  thou  most 
affectionate  and  beloved  of  mothers !  My  dear 
mother  is  no  more  !  Oh  she 's  gone,  she 's  gone,  never 
to  return  to  us  again  !  Shall  we  then  wish  her 
return  ?  No,  we  dare  not.  But  not  to  feel  bitterly 
for  one  we  so  much  loved,  not  to  give  vent  to  the 
ardour  of  our  affection  for  so  kind  and  excellent  a 
mother,  would  require  the  hardest  and  most  unfeeling 


42  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

heart,  which  none  of  us  possess.  My  dearest  mother's 
portrait  is  an  inestimable  treasure.  The  large  one 
hangs  in  our  bed-room,  but  since  I  have  heard  of  her 
decease,  I  can  hardly  bear  to  look  at  it.  I  am 
endeavouring  to  overcome  my  feelings,  and  let  it 
continue  to  hang  there,  as  a  faithful  monitor  to  remind 
me  frequently  of  her  bright  example,  but  I  fear  I 
must  put  it  away.  Our  precious  mother !  Our 
dearest  mother  1  .  .  .  Another  thought  that  has 
occupied  my  mind  is  that  we  shall  see  our  dear 
mother  again  ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  of  our  mutual 
recognition.  Now,  if  we  are  found  in  Jesus,  with 
what  ecstatic  joy  will  our  beloved  parent  join  with  the 
redeemed  of  the  Lord  in  welcoming  her  children  into 
the  regions  of  the  blessed,  to  go  no  more  out,  to  part 
no  more  for  ever !  Oh  that  this  may  be  our  happy 
portion  ! " 

An  additional  bitterness  was  imparted  to  this  grief, 
because  the  surviving  parent  was  not  a  Christian. 
John  Williams  wrote  an  affectionate  letter  to  his 
father,  pleading  earnestly  that  he  would  not  delay, 
and  earnestly  adjuring  him  to  repentance  and  faith. 
It  proved  to  be  a  word  spoken  in  season ;  seven  years 
after  the  date  of  this  letter,  John  Williams'  father,  then 
dying,  exclaimed,  "  The  father  is  saved  through  the 
son's  instrumentality." 

Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  mournful  tidings  of  his 
mother's  death,  Mr.  Williams  baptised  nearly  five 
hundred  persons.  His  malady  returned  again  about 
this  time,  and  his  wife  also  became  seriously  ill ;  it  was, 
therefore,  evident  that  medical  aid  must  be  sought, 
either  in  England  or  in  Australia.  In  September, 
1 82 1,  the  ship  Westnioi'elaiid,  bound  for  Sydney, 
touched  at  Raiatea,  and  Mr.  Williams  and  his  wife 
took  passages  in  her.     The    Westmoreland  called  at 


A   STRANGER   WITH    MANY   FRIENDS.  43 

AitutakI,  on  October  2nd,  leaving  two  native  teachers 
in  that  island.  The  natives  of  Aitutaki  were  hid- 
eously tattooed,  their  bodies  being  smeared  with  pipe- 
clay, red  or  yellow  ochre,  or  charcoal.  The  chief  of 
the  island  heard,  with  great  astonishment,  of  the 
abolition  of  idolatry  in  Raiatea,  and  rubbed  noses 
vigorously  with  the  teachers  entrusted  to  his  care. 
Here  the  only  child  of  Mr.  Williams,  a  boy  of  about 
four  years  of  age,  attracted  much  attention,  and  the 
natives  begged  hard  that  he  .might  be  left  with  them, 
promising  to  make  him  a  king.  When  the  parents 
declined  this  offer,  they  began  to  talk  angrily  among 
themselves,  looking  first  at  the  child,  and  then  over 
the  side  of  the  ship,  as  if  arranging  to  carry  him  off 
by  force.  Mr.  Williams  at  once  sent  the  child  below 
into  the  cabin,  and  took  leave  of  his  somewhat  trouble- 
some friends.  In  Sydney,  he  speedily  regained  health, 
and  immediately  began  to  seek  for  a  ship  to  trade 
from  the  islands  to  New  South  Wales.  The  London 
Missionary  Society's  agent  at  first  opposed  this 
scheme,  but  finding  that  Mr.  Williams  was  resolute 
in  his  purpose,  he  relented,  and  assisted  him.  A  new 
schooner  of  80  or  90  tons  burden  was  purchased,  and 
called  The  Endeavour ;  a  name  that  the  natives  after- 
wards changed  into  The  Beginning.  While  in  Sydney, 
Mr.  Williams  also  engaged  a  gentleman,  whose  salary 
he  himself  guaranteed,  to  teach  the  natives  the  profit- 
able cultivation  of  sugar  and  tobacco.  He  also  loaded 
The  Endeavour  with  shoes,  clothing,  tea,  and  other 
articles  for  the  Raiateans.  To  these  articles,  the 
Governor  of  New  South  Wales  added  several  cows 
and  sheep,  as  presents  for  the  chiefs. 

On  the  23rd  of  April,  1822,  The  Endeavour  left 
Sydney,  and,  after  touching  at  New  Zealand,  and 
Rurutu,  reached    Raiatea,  on   the  6th  of  June.     On 


44  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

landing,  Mr.  Williams  heard  that,  during  his  absence, 
another  conspiracy  had  been  detected,  the  object  of 
the  conspirators  having  been  to  dethrone  the  king. 
Ten  men  had  been  tried  for  this  offence,  and  sentenced 
to  die  ;  this  sentence,  however,  had  been  commuted 
into  hard  labour  for  life,  at  the  intercession  of  Mr. 
Threlkeld. 

Tamatoa,  the  king,  was  much  gratified  when  he 
saw  the  ship,  and  he  wrote  to  the  Directors  of  the 
Missionary  Society,  expressing  to  them  his  great 
pleasure.  "  A  ship  is  good,"  he  said,  "  for,  by  its 
means,  useful  property  will  come  to  our  lands,  and 
our  bodies  be  covered  with  decent  cloth.  But  this  is 
another  use  of  the  ship,  when  we  compassionate  the 
little  lands  near  to  us,  and  desire  to  send  two  from 
among  us  to  those  lands,  to  teach  them  the  Gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Good  Word  of  the  Kingdom." 

In  the  following  October,  a  deputation  sent  out 
from  England  by  the  Directors,  visited  Raiatea. 
These  gentlemen,  among  other  objects,  endeavoured 
to  introduce  the  spinning  and  weaving  of  cotton 
among  the  natives,  but  unfortunately,  without  success. 
With  Mr.  Williams,  they  were  much  pleased  ;  they 
wrote  home  to  England  speaking  of  him  and  his 
work  in  the  highest  terms  of  commendation.  But 
they  lamented  the  feeble  health,  both  of  himself  and 
his  wife,  which  seemed  to  threaten  an  abrupt  and 
speedy  termination  to  his    labours   in   Raiatea.     He 

r  himself  wrote  home,  "  Oh,  for  health  and  strength — 
not  to  give  to  the  vanities  of  the  world — not  to  amass 

I  the  riches  of  the  East — but  to  spend  and  to  be  spent 
among  the  perishing  heathen.  My  God,  give  it ! 
I  think  we  want  this,  only  that  we  may  devote  it  to 
His  service.  His  cause  lies  near  our  hearts."  But 
the  prayer  was  not  immediately  answered ;  for  Mrs. 


A   STRANGER   WITH   MANY   FRIENDS. 


45 


Williams  became  so  dangerously  ill  that  her  recovery- 
was  despaired  of.  By  God's  mercy,  however,  the  fever 
gradually  left  her,  and,  before  the  new  year  dawned, 
she  was  mercifully  restored  to  some  degree  of  health. 
TJie  Endeavour  was  despatched  to  New  South 
Wales  with  her  first  cargo,  and  no  less  than  150 
plantations  were  more  or  less  cultivated.  Three  or 
four  tons  of  salt  had  been  prepared  by  the  natives. 
Thus  the  year  1822  did  not  close  in  gloom,  as  at 
one  time  it  had  threatened  to  do. 


™. ;^^ 


JOHN    WILLIAMS'    HOUSE   AT    RAIATEA. 


CHAPTER   III. 

A  VOYAGE  WITH    MANY   DISCOVERIES. 

1823-1827. 

"  1  longed  to  prove  by  efforts  new 
My  speechless  gratitude." 

Bronti. 

"While  it  is  yet  day  I  must  be  about  my  Master's  busi- 
ness; and  he  who  helps  me  onward  is  twice  my  friend." — 
John  Williams. 


F 


^OR  my  own  part  I  cannot  content  myself  with- 
in the  narrow  limits  of  a  single  reef;  and  if 
means  are  not  afforded,  a  continent  would  to 
me  be   infinitely  preferable,  for  there  if  you 
cannot  ride  you  can  walk.'' 

These    remarkable   words    were   written    by  John 
Williams  to  his  Directors  towards  the  close  of  the 
year   1823.      They  exhibited  the  restless  energy  to 
46 


A   VOYAGE  WITH   MANY   DISCOVERIES.  4/ 

which,  humanly  speaking,  the  great  expansion  of  his 
work  during  this  year  may  be  attributed.  He  dis- 
covered Raratonga  during  1823,  and  that  island 
became  the  fruitful  mother  of  many  missions. 

The  immediate  cause  of  his  new  enterprise  was 
the  account  received  from  the  two  teachers  left  in 
Aitutaki.  They  had  been  at  first  ridiculed  by  the 
natives,  as  "two  logs  of  driftwood  cast  up  by  the 
sea ; "  subsequently  the  people  changed  their  opinion 
of  the  teachers,  and  promised  that,  if  Mr.  Williams 
would  come  to  visit  them  again,  they  would  abandon 
their  idols.  Accordingly,  on  the  4th  of  July,  Messrs. 
Williams  and  Bourne  left  Raiatea,  accompanied  by 
six  native  teachers.  During  the  voyage  to  Aitutaki, 
Mr.  Williams  prepared  a  series  of  counsels  for  his 
native  he4pers  that  are  deeply  interesting,  as,  exhibit- 
ing both  his  own  ideal  and  his  unwearied  activity  for 
the  conversion  of  the  heathen.  Himself  a  deeply 
spiritual  man,  he  advises  them  thus  :  "  Work  well  and 
pray  much.  Think  of  the  death  of  Jesus  ;  and  reflect 
that  the  natives  of  the  islands  to  which  you  go  are 
purchased  with  His  blood."  He  warns  them  that  the 
heathen  "  will  watch  yon  with  rats'  eyes,  to  find  little 
crooked  places  in  your  conduct."  An  indefatigable 
worker  himself,  he  could  say  without  shame,  "Remem- 
ber well  your  work.  Give  to  it  your  hands,  your 
mouths,  your  bodies,  your  souls,  and  God  bless  your 
labours  !  In  your  temporal  concerns  be  diligent.  A 
lazy  missionary  is  both  an  ugly  and  a  useless  being." 
His  own  career  is  a  beautiful  commentary  upon  his 
concluding  sentences.  "  Have  singleness  of  heart  to 
Jesus  and  His  Gospel.  Search  His  Word,  and  pray 
to  Him  that  He  will  not  leave  nor  forsake  you." 

The  voyage,  thus  wisely  employed,  ended  on  the 
9th  of  July,  when  he  landed  at  Aitutaki,  and  found 


48 


JOHN   WILLIAMS. 


that  "  the  good  Word  had  taken  root "  there  indeed. 
The  natives,  as  they  crowded  round  the  vessel,  held 
up  their  hats  and  books  and  repeated  portions  of  the 
Catechism  or  the  grace  before  meat  as  a  token  of 
their  faith  in  Christ.  Upon  landing,  John  Williams 
found  that  the  native  teachers  had  set  a  good  example 
of  industry  to  the  people ;  and  that,  in  consequence, 
many  houses  had  been  erected  and  furnished  by  them 
in  imitation  of  the  teachers'.     The  Aitutakians  had 


AITUTAKI. 


abandoned  idolatry  and  the  eating  of  human  flesh, 
and  had  erected  a  large  chapel,  which  they  wished 
Mr.  Williams  to  declare  open.  The  pulpit  in  this 
chapel  was  ingeniously  constructed,  like  the  chapel 
walls,  of  wattling  plastered  over  and  then  white- 
washed. Nothing  that  the  teachers  did  amazed  the 
natives  so  much  as  this  whitewashing.  When  the 
coral  was  placed  in  the  kiln  to  be  burned  into  lime, 
the  bystanders  shouted,  "  Oh,  these  foreigners,  they  are 


A  VOYAGE   WITH   MANY   DISCOVERIES.  49 

roasting  stones  !  "  And  when  the  whitewash  was  dry, 
they  exclaimed,  "  The  very  stones  in  the  sea  and  the 
sand  on  the  shore  become  good  property  in  the  hands  of 
those  who  worship  the  true  God  and  regard  His  word." 
The  success  thus  achieved  during  the  short  period 
of  eighteen  months,  greatly  cheered  Mr.  Williams. 
He  wrote  in  his  journal,  "  I  hope  for  great  things, 
pray  for  great  things,  and  confidently  expect  great 
things  to  result  from  these  labours."  At  Aitutaki, 
he  found  some  natives  of  Raratonga,  who  had  been 
driven  out  of  their  course  by  a  gale.  They  had 
become  Christians,  and  gjreatly  desired  to  return  to 
their  native  land.  So  he  took  them  on  board,  and, 
accompanied  by  the  king  of  Aitutaki,  thirty-one  of 
whose  discarded  idols  lay  in  the  hold  of  the  ship,  and 
Papeiha,  one  of  the  teachers  of  Aitutaki,  he  sailed  in 
search  of  Raratonga.  For  eight  days  he  sought  in 
vain  ;  at  the  end  of  that  time  he  directed  his  course 
to  Mangaia.  The  natives  here,  at  first,  were  very 
timid,  but,  after  Papeiha  had  visited  them,  they  con- 
sented to  receive  teachers.  But  when  the  teachers 
had  landed,  their  goods  were  seized  ;  one  man  broke 
a  saw  into  three  pieces,  and  hung  the  sections  from 
his  ears.  Nor  was  this  the  worst ;  Papeiha  had  a  piece 
of  cloth  thrown  over  his  head,  which  was  twisted  in 
order  to  strangle  him  ;  others  received  even  worse 
treatment.  Papeiha  and  his  friends  reproached  the 
chief  with  perfidy  in  permitting  such  outrages  after 
having  promised  to  protect  the  teachers ;  the  man 
replied,  "  That  in  Mangaia  all  heads  were  equal." 
Under  the  circumstances,  Mr.  Williams  decided  to 
abandon  his  purpose  of  leaving  teachers  among  these 
savages.  He  resolved,  however,  upon  his  return 
home,  to  send  two  single  men  to  Mangaia ;  this  was 
subsequently  done,  and    the   two    missionaries   were 

P 


50  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

well  received  by  the  people  of  Mangaia,  who  ascribed 
a  pestilence  that  broke  out  among  them  to  the  anger 
of  the  God  of  the  strangers. 

From  Mangaia,  the  missionaries  proceeded  to  Atiu, 
where  two  native  preachers  had  been  living  for  two 
or  three  months.  But  they  were  not  prospering ; 
they  had  been  stripped  of  their  property,  and  were 
even  suffering  from  hunger.  The  chief  of  Atiu  came 
on  board  the  mission  ship,  and  the  king  of  Aitutaki 
at  once  zealously  attempted  his  conversion.  He 
took  him  to  the  hold  of  the  vessel,  and  showed  the 
astonished  chief  the  once  dreaded  idols,  now  treated 
with  ignominy,  and  without  much  difficulty  per- 
suaded him  to  renounce  his  idolatry.  The  new 
convert  conducted  the  missionaries  to  two  small 
islands  that  were  under  his  sway.  There  he  abolished 
idolatry,  and  advised  his  subjects  to  accept  the  new 
teaching.  The  people  of  Mauke  and  Mitiaro,  as 
these  islands  were  called,  were  extremely  simple  ; 
upon  seeing  the  goats,  which  had  been  brought  by 
Mr.  Williams,  they  called  them  "  birds  with  great 
teeth  in  their  heads."  The  king  of  Atiu  informed 
Mr.  Williams  that  Raratonga  was  not  more  than  nine 
days'  sail  distant,  and  gave  him  the  bearings  of  that 
island. 

Mr.  Williams  resumed  his  search,  although  the 
natives  of  Aitutaki  did  their  utmost  to  dissuade  him 
from  persisting  in  his  purpose,  saying  that  the 
Raratongans  were  treacherous  and  fierce  cannibals. 
But  in  spite  of  their  advice,  the  search  was  continued 
for  five  days,  but,  as  before,  in  vain  ;  at  the  end  of 
that  time  the  provisions  being  almost  all  consumed, 
Mr.  Williams  promised  that  if  the  land  was  not 
sighted  before  eight  o'clock  he  would  turn  back. 
Within    half-an-hour   of    the    abandonment   of    the 


A  VOYAGE   WITH   MANY   DISCOVERIES.  5 1 

enterprise,  the  look-out  man  shouted,  "  Here  is  the 
land  we  are  seeking." 

Papeiha  landed  with  another  native,  and  addressed 
an  immense  string  of  people.  The  king  of  Rara- 
tonga,  Makea  by  name,  then  came  on  board  The 
Endeavour,  and  readily  promised  to  protect  the 
teachers  brought  for  his  people.  Among  the  Rara- 
tongans  conveyed  home  by  The  Endeavour  was 
the  king's  own  cousin,  whom  he  greeted  affection- 
ately. Relying  upon  Makea's  promise,  the  teachers 
were  landed,  but  during  the  ensuing  night  they  were 
so  shamefully  treated  that  Mr.  Williams  would  not 
allow  them  to  remain.  Papeiha,  ever  ready  when 
there  was  danger,  offered  to  go  ashore  alone  and  to 
remain  in  Raratonga  on  condition  that  a  colleague, 
\om  he  named,  should  be  sent  to  him.  This 
ppeared  the  only  possible  course  open,  and  for  four 
months  this  devoted  man  laboured  alone,  except 
with  such  little  aid  as  the  converts  brought  with  him 
could  render.  The  tiny  company  increased  rapidly, 
and  within  a  year  they  erected  a  chapel  at  Rara- 
tonga, six  hundred  feet  long. 

As  in  many  other  lands,  strange  events  had  pre- 
pared the  way  from  afar.  A  heathen  woman,  before 
the  arrival  of  The  Endeavour,  had  brought  from  Tahiti 
some  rumours  of  the  Gospel.  Makea,  after  hearing 
her  story,  had  named  one  of  his  children  Jehovp^  -^^"'^ 
another  Jesus  Christ.  An  altar  had  even  beeii^^  knew 
to  Jehovah  and  Jesus  Christ,  which  had  become  t^^^^ 
ous  for  the  cure  of  disease.  The  Unknown  God, 
whom  they  thus  ignorantly  worshipped,  was  declared 
unto  them  by  the  devoted  Papeiha.  The  first  convert 
who  rewarded  this  earnest  worker's  entreaties  was  a 
chief,  who  learned  how  to  pray  from  his  friend's  lips. 
As  Papeiha,  worn  out  by  fatigue,  dropped  off  to  sleep, 


52  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

this  man  awoke  him  by  saying,  "  I  have  forgotten  it, 
go  over  it  again ;"  this  happened  more  than  once  dur- 
ing the  night,  and  the  prayer  was  repeated  again  and 
again.     Others  of  the  heathens  were  interested  by  the 
sight  of  Papeiha's  Testament,  saying,  "  There  is  the 
God  of  that  man  !  what  a  strange  God  it  is,  he  carries 
it  about  with  him."     An  amusing  incident  connected 
with  this  period  may  be  related  here.    A  favourite  cat, 
which  had  been  landed  from   The  Endeavour,  while 
rambling  about  the  island,  visited  a  priest  who  had 
renounced  his  idols  under  Papeiha's  teaching.     The 
man's  wife,  seeing  the  cat's  eyes  shining  in  the  dark, 
awoke  her  husband  and  said  "  Get  up  and  pray,  get 
up  and  pray."     Puss,  however,  decamped  before  the 
prayer  was  finished,  and  being  void  of  fear  took  up 
her  abode  in  an  idol  temple.     The  worshippers,  unac- 
customed to  such  animals,  shouted,  when  they  saw  the 
cat,  "  Here 's  a  monster  from  the  deep  !  here 's  a  mon- 
ster from  the  deep  !  "     Unhappily  the  cause  of  all  this 
terror  came  to  an  untimely  end,  by  the  hands  of  some 
valiant  warriors. 

Without  knowing  to  what  Papeiha's  work  would 
lead,  Mr.  Williams  returned  home,  leaving  his  devoted 
helper  alone  in  Raratonga.  He  had  been  absent  upon 
this,  his  first  missionary  enterprise,  about  five  weeks. 
To  his  father  he  wrote,  after  his  return  to  Raiatea, 
'Ail.-  v^pft  is  as  much  alive  to  missionary  work  as  it 
from  pf^tirst  day  I  set  my  foot  on  these  shores  ;  and 
-^^the  work  of  my  Lord  and  Saviour  I  desire  to  live 
and  to  die.  My  highest  ambition,  dear  father,  is  to 
be  faithful  to  my  work,  faithful  to  souls,  and  faithful 
to  Christ;  in  a  word,  to  be  abundantly  and  extensively 
useful." 

Being  such  a  man  as  he  thus  describes  himself  to 
be,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  he  could  not  remain  idle 


A  VOYAGE  WITH   MANY  DISCOVERIES.  53 

at  Raiatea.  So  in  a  small  schooner  he  visited  Rurutu 
and  Rimatara.  In  each  island  he  was  more  than 
satisfied  with  the  progress  already  made ;  and  in 
Rurutu  he  had  the  joy  of  administering  the  Lord's 
Supper,  for  the  first  time  in  that  island,  to  sixteen 
persons,  who  were  the  first-fruits  of  the  mission  there. 
As  might  have  been  expected  from  the  ordinary  course 
of  affairs,  the  great  success  of  his  recent  voyage  was 
followed  by  an  equally  great  trial. 

Some  selfish  merchants  had  induced  the  Governor 
of  New  South  Wales  to  put  a  duty  upon  the  tobacco 
brought  from  the  South  Sea  Islands.  This  was  a 
serious  blow  to  the  new  industries  of  sugar  making 
and  trading  in  cocoa-nut  oils,  pearl  shells,  and  other 
articles,  all  of  which  were  affected  and  depreciated 
by  the  new  fiscal  arrangements.  Simultaneously  with 
this  misfortune,  Mr.  Williams  received  a  letter  from 
his  Directors,  censuring  his  conduct  in  purchasing  TJie 
Endeavour.  Although  he  still  retained  his  own  opin"^ 
ion,  Mr.  Williams  at  once  called  the  chiefs  around  him, 
and  communicated  these  evil  tidings  to  them.  They 
at  once  determined  to  freight  The  Endeavour  with 
native  produce,  and  to  sell  both  cargo  and  vessel  in 
Sydney,  for  whatever  amount,  in  the  altered  circum- 
stances, they  could  obtain.  While  thus  loyal  to  his 
Directors,  Mr.  Williams  felt  keenly  the  folly  of  the 
course  he  had  been  compelled  to  take.  "  Satan  knew 
well,"  he  remarked,  "  that  this  ship  was  the  most  fatal 
weapon  ever  formed  against  his  interests  in  the  great 
South  Sea;  and,  therefore,  as  soon  as  he  felt  the  effects 
of  its  first  blow,  he  wrested  it  out  of  our  hands." 

He  appealed  in  vain  to  the  Directors  to  supply  him 
with  a  ship,  if  only  to  keep  the  trading  vessels  (which 
he  called  "  the  very  arks  of  Satan  ")  away.  Like  the 
wise  man  that  he  was,  he  did  not  desert  or  relax  his 


54  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

labours  because  thus  disappointed.  With  him,  as 
with  all  strong  cedar-like  natures,  the  load  of  snow 
upon  the  branches  meant  deeper  rooting  and  growth. 
Confined  now  to  Raiatea,  he  employed  his  energies 
in  devising  new  methods  of  work  there.  Among 
other  services  arranged,  he  called  a  solemn  meeting 
on  the  New  Year's  day  of  1824,  for  the  purpose  of 
review  and  re-dedication  to  God's  service.  After  a 
substantial  repast,  the  serious  engagements  of  the  day 
commenced.  Among  the  speakers  on  this  occasion 
was  the  king,  Tamatoa  himself,  who  counselled  his 
subjects  thus : — "  Let  not  our  profession  be  like  the 
bamboo,  which  when  lighted  blazes  most  furiously, 
but  leaves  no  firebrand  or  charcoal  behind  for  future 
use." 

Shortly  after  this  useful  and  happy  meeting,  one  of 
"  the  very  arks  of  Satan,"  laden  with  spirits,  visited 
the  island.  Finding  that  he  could  not  dispose  of  his 
cargo  in  Raiatea,  the  captain,  in  revenge,  decoyed  two 
or  three  women  into  his  vessel,  and  then  set  sail  with 
them  on  board. 

But  a  greater  trouble  even  than  the  annoyance 
caused  by  this  scandalous  conduct  now  arose.  The 
situation  of  the  settlement  left  it  much  exposed  to  the 
violent  tempests  that  swept  down  from  the  central 
mountains.  As  the  devastations  caused  by  these 
tornadoes  much  disheartened  the  people,  Mr.  Williams 
suggested  that  they  should  remove  to  the  other  side 
of  the  island.  This  the  natives  agreed  to  do,  and 
very  shortly  a  new  settlement  extended  nearly  four 
miles  along  the  seashore  ;  but  this  time  to  windward, 
or  upon  the  north  side  of  Raiatea.  Although  this 
entailed  very  much  additional  labour  on  himself,  Mr. 
Williams  did  not  altogether  regret  this  removal.  The 
South  Sea  Islanders  resembled  Haydon,  who  confessed 


A   VOYAGE  WITH    MANY   DISCOVERIES.  55 

that  he  required  "  a  great  work  to  keep  his  mind 
excited."  After  forming  the  first  settlement,  the 
Raiateans  were  relapsing  into  their  habitual  indolence  ; 
the  migration  was  beneficial,  inasmuch  as  it  compelled 
them  to  labour  once  more.  But,  shortly  after  this 
transportation,  death  again  visited  the  mission  band. 
On  the  7th  of  March,  Mrs.  Threlkeld  died,  and  her 
husband  returned  to  England,  with  his  four  mother- 
less children,  one  of  them  an  infant  in  arms.  In  spite 
of,  or  perhaps  even  in  consequence  of,  these  trials,  the 
native  church  continued  to  prosper  ;  for  the  number 
of  the  baptized  had  now  reached  900  persons.  A 
mischief-maker,  and  even  a  busy-body,  were  remorse- 
lessly expelled  from  the  new  community  ;  in  this 
course  the  church  at  Raiatea  might  perhaps  be 
imitated  by  far  older  churches  with  advantage. 

Among  the  visitors  who  brought  sunshine  with 
them  was  the  chief  of  Rurutu,  who  did  not  forget  his 
benefactors.  He  brought  with  him  a  young  man, 
whom  he  wished  Mr.  Williams  to  instruct  in  the 
mechanical  arts  of  which  he  was  master.  While 
superintending  this  young  man's  education,  Mr. 
Williams  was  able  to  spare  time  for  the  translation  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures  into  the  native  tongue.  How  he 
was  able  to  carry  on  at  once  so  many  things,  and  to 
excel  in  each,  is  a  mystery.  It  was  probably  because, 
like  Fowell  Buxton,  "  he  brought  a  whole  man  to  bear 
upon  everything  that  he  undertook  ;  "  and,  therefore, 
exhaustive  as  the  process  was,  he  was  able  to  effect 
what  might  well  have  occupied  the  strength  of  several 
men.  Nor  was  his  wife  less  industrious  ;  among  her 
many  works  of  mercy,  a  large  class  for  lame,  deaf, 
and  blind  old  women  must  be  considered  as  the  most 
worthy  of  notice.  "  We  were  laid  aside  as  castaways, 
but  now  we  begin  to  live  again,"  was  the  touching 


$6  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

remark  of  one  of  these  poor  creatures.  No  examples 
of  Mrs.  Williams'  instructions  have  been  preserved, 
but  an  anecdote  may  be  here  given  showing  her 
husband's  aptness  to  teach.  He  was  talking  to  a 
chief  who  had  repeatedly  hindered  the  teachers  in 
their  work.  "  I  spoke  pointedly  to  the  chief  on  the 
advantages  of  union  and  co-operation,  which  I  illus- 
trated by  stating  that  twenty  men  might  easily  draw 
a  heavy  log  from  the  mountain  to  the  sea,  if  all  pulled 
at  one  rope  and  at  one  end  ;  but  that  if  a  rope  were 
fastened  to  either  end,  and  ten  men  pulled  one  way 
and  ten  the  other,  they  would  never  get  the  log  to  the 
sea." 

Under  instruction  so  suitably  conveyed,  it  is  no 
wonder  that  the  mission  continued  to  increase.  So 
much  did  it  grow  that  a  new  and  larger  chapel  was 
opened  on  the  8th  of  February,  1826,  in  the  new 
settlement.  In  response  to  Mr.  Williams'  appeals, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pitman  were  sent  out  from  England  to 
labour  in  Raratonga.  For  a  time  they  remained  at 
Raiatea  and  undertook  the  care  of  the  school  while 
acquiring  the  language.  To  this  new  friend  Mr. 
Williams  lamented  :  "  Had  I  a  ship  at  my  command, 
not  one  island  in  the  Pacific  but  should,  God  permit- 
ting, be  .visited,  and  teachers  sent  to  direct  the  wander- 
ing feet  of  the  heathen  to  happiness — to  heaven."  But 
his  complaints  fell  upon  deaf  ears,  and  he  was  com- 
pelled to  undergo  that  difficult  service  of  waiting,  not 
idle  waiting,  by  any  means,  for  he  now  taught  himself 
the  manufacture  of  ropes,  constructing  with  his  own 
hands  the  requisite  machinery.  The  cables  thus  pro- 
duced were  disposed  of  to  captains  of  ships,  and  thus 
a  new  industry  was  opened  to  the  Raiateans. 

In  a  letter  to  his  sisters  in  England,  written  about 
this    time,    Mr.    Williams    says,    "  I    will    give   your 


A  VOYAGE  WITH   MANY   DISCOVERIES. 


57 


husbands,  my  dear  sisters,  a  Raiatean  cure  for  a  scold- 
ing wife.  I  have  a  young  man  at  work  for  me,  who 
is  a  very  good  tempered,  and  a  very  droll  fellow. 
His  wife  is  very  fond  of  him,  but  is  at  times 
troubled  with  a  terrible  itching  under  the  tongue,  and 
while  this  lasts,  scold  she  must.  The  young  man 
listens  to  the  effusions  of  her  anger  very  patiently, 
and,  while  she  is  scolding,  he  quietly  ope.ns  the  New 
Testament,  and  begins  to  read  it  aloud.  At  this  the 
wife  storms  out — '  Why  does  this  fellow  read  the  Word 
of  God  ? '  And  the  husband  calmly  replies,  '  To 
calm  your  troubled  spirit  my  dear,  and  to  support  me 
against  the  volleys  of  your  wrath,  lest  my  anger 
should  be  kindled  too.'  The  loving  wife  soon  perceives 
that  it  is  of  no  use  for  her  to  scold,  so  she  embraces 
her  husband,  smiles  at  her  own  folly,  and  promises 
in  future  to  regulate  her  tongue  !  " 

Towards  the  end  of  this  year,  on  the  28th  of 
November,  1826,  Mr.  Williams'  second  son  was 
born.  He  was  named  Tamatoa,  after  the  King  of 
Raiatea,  his  father's  friend.  It  is  needless,  perhaps, 
to  say  that  the  Rev.  Samuel  Tamatoa  Williams  is 
now  the  successful  and  honoured  minister  of  the 
Congregational  Church  at  Catford  Hill,  Kent. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


A   TROUBLE  WITH   MANY   BLESSINGS. 


1827-18SO. 


"The  love  of  all  things  springs  from  the  love  of  one; 
Wider  the  soul's  horizon  hourly  grows, 
And  over  it  with  fuller  glory  flows 
The  sky-like  spirit  of  God." 

J.  R.  Lowell. 

ON  the  26th  of  April,  1827,  Mr.  Williams  left 
Raiatea  for  a  second  visit  to  Raratonga.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Pitman  had  been  appointed  to  work 

in  that  island ;  they  now  accompanied  their 
friend  to  their  future  home.  Unhappily  the  voyagers 
did  not  make  Raratonga  until  the  6th  of  May,  and 
then,  as  there  was  no  suitable  harbour  into  which  the 
ship  could  be  taken,  the  missionaries,  with  their  wives, 
were  put  into  a  boat  three  miles  from  the  shore. 
While  entering  the  boat,  Mr.  Williams  had  a  narrow 
escape  from  a  fearful  death.  He  was  handing  down 
his  son  Samuel,  when  he  was  hurled  by  the  waves 
against  the  ship,  with  the  infant  still  in  his  arms. 
Both  father  and  child  must  certainly  have  been 
crushed  between  the  ship  and  the  boat,  had  not  Mrs. 

58 


A   TROUBLE   WITH    MANY   BLESSINGS.  59 

Pitman  promptly  seized  Mr.  Williams  by  the  coat  and 
pulled  him  into  the  boat.  In  addition  to  the  agitation 
naturally  produced  by  this  peril,  the  missionaries 
found  that  their  boat  was  leaking  fast ;  indeed  it  was 
only  kept  afloat  by  Mrs.  Williams  sitting  in  the  bottom 
and  baling  out  the  water. 

At  length,  to  their  great  joy,  they  reached  the  shore 
in  safety,  and  soon  forgot  their  recent  danger  in  the 
hearty  welcome  given  them  by  the  hundreds  of  natives 
who  thronged  the  beach.  But  their  happiness  was 
somewhat  marred,  on  the  third  morning  after  their 
landing,  by  receiving  a  letter  from  the  captain  of  the 
vessel  in  which  they  arrived.  He  said  that  his  ship 
had  sustained  so  much  injury  from  the  waves  that  he 
feared  to  remain  longer  at  his  present  anchorage. 
Messrs.  Williams  and  Pitman  accordingly  went  off  at 
once  to  the  vessel,  and  secured  some  clothes  and  a 
few  other  necessaries  ;  but  they  were  reluctantly  com- 
pelled to  leave  the  bulk  of  their  property  on  board. 
With  these  few  articles  placed  in  the  boat,  they  had 
to  go  nearly  seven  miles  in  a  gale  of  wind,  which 
caused  a  heavy  sea.  But  a  canoe  from  the  shore 
came  to  their  relief,  and  they  landed  in  safety,  to  the 
delight  of  their  anxious  friends  awaiting  them  at  the 
water's  edge. 

When  Mr.  Williams  thus  set  foot  on  Raratonga,  he 
had  no  intention  of  staying  longer  than  three  months. 
He  little  suspected  that  for  twelve  months  that  island 
was  to  be  his  home  ;  and  that  there  he  should  con- 
struct his  famous  ship,  TJie  Messenger  of  Peace. 

Quite  ignorant  of  the  successes  and  privation  of  the 
coming  year,  he  now  assisted  in  the  removal  of  the 
settlement  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  island,  a  measure 
which  had  been  decided  upon  before  his  arrival.  To 
his  intense  gratification,  he  here  witnessed  a  spectacle 


6o  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

which  to  him  must  have  been  of  pecuhar  significance. 
He  was  desired  to  take  his  seat  outside  his  house, 
and  having  done  so,  a  long  procession  of  natives  filed 
past  him  and  laid  their  idols  at  his  feet.  The 
smallest  of  these  discarded  gods  was  five  feet  long, 
and  above  four  inches  in  diameter ;  the  iron-wood 
centre  was  swathed  with  thick  rolls  of  native  matting. 

The  Sabbath  following  this  public  renunciation  of 
heathenism,  a  congregation  of  four  thousand  natives 
assembled  for  Divine  worship.  As  the  chapel  proved 
to  be  utterly  inadequate  for  such  a  congregation,  it 
was  resolved,  in  a  public  meeting  held  the  next  day, 
to  erect  a  building  that  would  accommodate  3000  per- 
sons. In  seven  weeks  this  structure  was  finished  ;  a 
wonderful  achievement,  when  it  is  remembered  that 
five  years  before  not  a  native  had  seen  or  handled  an 
axe  or  a  plane. 

During  the  erection  of  this  chapel,  two  incidents 
occurred  which  must  not  be  omitted,  though  perhaps 
familiar  to  all.  Mr.  Williams,  while  at  work  upon  the 
building,  found  that  he  had  left  one  of  his  tools  at 
home.  He  wrote  upon  a  chip  a  request  for  the  article, 
and  asked  one  of  the  chiefs  to  carry  the  chip  to  Mrs. 
Williams.  The  man  answered,  "  She  will  call  me 
a  fool  and  scold  me,  if  I  carry  a  chip  to  her ;  what 
shall  I  say?"  "You  have  nothing  to  say,"  Mr.  Williams 
replied.  "  The  chip  will  say  all  that  I  wish."  "  How 
can  it  speak  ?  has  it  a  mouth  ? "  was  the  astonished 
question.  The  man  took  up  the  mysterious  chip  and 
carried  it  to  Mrs.  Williams.  She,  after  reading  the 
message,  threw  away  the  chip,  and  gave  the  messenger 
the  required  article. 

"  How  do  you  know  that  this  is  what  Mr.  Williams 
wants  ?  "  he  asked  in  perplexity. 

"  Did  you  not  bring  me  a  chip  just  now  ?  " 


A  TROUBLE  WITH    MANY   BLESSINGS.  6l 

"  Yes,  but  I  did  not  hear  it  say  anything." 

"  If  you  did  not,  I  did." 

The  man  caught  up  the  wonderful  chip  and,  holding 
it  high  above  his  head,  rushed  through  the  village 
shouting,  "  See  the  wisdom  of  these  English  people, 
they  can  make  chips  talk  !  They  can  make  chips 
talk  ! " 

The  second  incident  was  of  a  different  character. 
Mr.  Pitman,  while  assisting  in  the  building,  had  a 
narrow  escape  from  death.  A  man  who  was  dragging 
a  heavy  beam  up  to  the  roof,  allowed  it  to  slip,  and  it 
descended  upon  Mr.  Pitman,  felling  him  to  the  ground. 
He  was  only  stunned,  however,  and  after  a  time 
recovered  consciousness. 

For  nearly  three  months  the  two  English  mission- 
aries laboured  cordially  together  in  the  new  settle- 
ment. Among  other  plans,  one  now  adopted  proved 
especially  successful.  The  baptised  were  divided  into 
classes  of  ten  or  twelve  families  each,  for  the  sake 
of  mutual  oversight  and  instruction.  These  classes 
met  upon  the  Sabbath-day  for  prayer,  and  also  to 
arrange  among  themselves  for  reporting  the  sermon, 
after  a  fashion  of  their  own.  "  I  will  take  the  text," 
said  one,  "And  I  the  first  division,"  said  another. 
At  their  next  meeting,  these  gave  in  their  report  of 
the  portion  of  sermon  of  which  they  had  charge, 
reporting  the  Scriptural  references,  and  answering 
any  questions  that  might  be  asked  by  the  leader  of 
the  class.  By  thus  stimulating  the  natives  to  self- 
help,  the  missionaries  not  only  elevated  the  general 
intelligence  of  their  converts,  but  also  prepared  future 
native  teachers  for  work  in  other  lands. 

But  Raratonga,  beautiful  as  it  was  naturally,  and 
white  unto  harvest  as  it  was  spiritually,  was  not  fertile, 
and  while  there  Mr.  Williams  suffered  great  privations. 


62 


JOHN    WILLIAMS. 


Upon  his  wife,  never  very  strong,  and  now  in  very 
feeble  health,  the  results  of  the  hardships  were  very 
serious.  After  his  return  to  England,  Mr.  Williams 
said  touchingly,  "  I  have  seen  my  own  beloved  wife 
sit  down  at  table,  and  burst  into  tears  at  having  noth- 
ing to  eat,  week  after  week,  and  month  after  month, 
but  some  native  roots,  and  a  very  scanty  supply  even 
of  them,  but  no  European  food  of  any  kind.  .  .  .  She 
never  did  this  under  a  feeling  of  disaffection  to  the 
cause  in  which  we  are  engaged,  or  from  regret  that 
she  had  devoted  herself  to  the  work  of  God  ;  it  was 
the  mere  overpowerings  of  the  feelings  of  nature." 


MISSION    HOUSE,    AVARUA,    RARATONGA. 


In  his  "  Missionary  Enterprises,"  Mr.  Williams  also 
notes,  "  It  was  upwards  of  ten  years  after  our  arrival 
in  the  islands  before  we  tasted  beef;  and,  when  we 
killed  our  first  ox,  the  mission  families  from  the 
adjacent  islands  met  at  our  house  to  enjoy  the  treat ; 
but,  to  our  mortification,  we  had  so  entirely  lost  the 
relish  that  none  of  us  could  bear  either  the  taste  or 
smell  of  it.  The  wife  of  one  of  the  missionaries  burst 
into  tears,  and  lamented  bitterly  that  she  should 
become  so  barbarous  as  to  have  lost  her  relish  for 


A  TROUBLE   WITH   MANY   BLESSINGS.  63 

English  beef."  In  consequence  chiefly  of  this  scarcity 
of  food,  many  of  the  natives  resolved  to  return  to  the 
original  settlement.  The  bulk  of  the  population 
remained  upon  the  eastern  side  of  the  island,  however, 
and  Mr.  Pitman  resolved  to  stay  with  them  ;  Mr. 
Williams  accompanied  the  natives  who  returned  to 
their  original  homes.  Here  he  had  to  repair  the 
chapel,  and  reconstruct  the  settlement  which  had 
fallen  into  decay. 

But  a  far  more  serious  difficulty,  arising  from  the 
ancient  customs  of  the  island,  presented  a  barrier  to 
the  progress  of  the  Gospel. .  For  example,  it  had  long 
been  the  rule  that,  as  soon  as  a  young  man  attained 
to  years  of  manhood,  he  must  wrestle  with  his  father. 
Should  the  son  prove  the  stronger,  he  took  possession 
of  the  house  and  farm,  from  which  he  expelled  his 
parents.  This  "  He  might  take  who  had  the  might, 
and  he  may  keep  who  can  "  was  not  more  cruel  than 
the  usage  called  ''  Ao  Anga."  This  custom  was  that, 
when  a  man  died,  all  his  relatives  were  permitted  to 
come  to  his  house,  and  there  seize  both  the  house 
and  all  its  contents,  indeed  all  the  property  of  the 
deceased,  leaving  the  widow  and  children  to  starve. 
Evil  as  these  practices  were,  they  were  too  deeply 
rooted  to  be  easily  abolished.  As  a  preparatory  step 
to  their  abolition,  Mr.  Williams  translated  into 
Raratongan  the  code  of  laws  which  had  been  adopted 
at  Raiatea.  These  he  expounded  during  the  long 
evenings,  when,  in  his  own  garden  upon  the  sea-shore 
or  within  his  house,  he  gathered  the  natives  around 
him  ;  and  binding  them  to  him  by  ties  as  sweet  as 
they  were  strong,  he  made  their  curiosity  a  means  of 
imparting  lasting  blessings  to  their  souls. 

Perhaps,  however,  no  incident  (apart  from  the  ship- 
building) in  his  life  at  Raratonga  is  so  interesting  as 


64  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

his  description  of  Buteve.  Of  this  man  Dr.  Campbell 
remarked,  "  One  hardly  knows  whether  more  to 
admire  this  man's  temporal  or  his  spiritual  industry." 
Buteve's  hands  and  feet  having  been  eaten  off  by 
disease,  he  was  compelled  to  walk  upon  his  knees. 
Yet  he  contrived  to  cultivate  his  little  patch  of  ground 
so  skilfully  that  his  wife  and  three  children  were  well 
supplied  with  food.  His  only  implement  in  doing 
this  was  a  piece  of  pointed  iron-wood.  With  this  he 
pierced  the  ground  by  pressing  the  whole  weight  of 
his  body  upon  it.  He  then  scooped  out  the  thus 
loosened  earth  with  his  wrist  stumps,  and  placed  the 
plant  into  the  hole.  In  the  same  manner  he  removed 
the  weeds. 

One  evening  he  greeted  Mr.  Williams  with  the 
shout  of  "  Welcome,  servant  of  God,  who  brought 
light  into  this  dark  island."  After  hearing  Buteve's 
account  of  the  incarnation  and  death  of  Christ,  Mr. 
Williams  said  to  him  : — 

"  You  pray  of  course  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes  ;  I  very  frequently  pray  as  I  weed  my 
ground,  and  plant  my  food,  but  always  three  times  a 
day,  besides  praying  with  my  family  every  morning 
and  evening." 

The  remainder  of  the  conversation  can  be  best 
given  in  Mr.  Williams'  own  words. 

"  I  asked  him  what  he  said  when  he  prayed  ? 

"  He  answered,  '  I  say,  O  Lord,  I  am  a  great  sinner, 
may  Jesus  take  my  sins  away  by  His  good  blood  ; 
give  me  the  righteousness  of  Jesus  to  adorn  me,  and 
give  me  the  good  spirit  of  Jesus  to  instruct  me  and 
make  my  heart  good,  to  make  me  a  man  of  Jesus,  and 
take  me  to  heaven  when  I  die.' 

"'Well,'  I  replied,  '  that,  Buteve,  is  very  excellent, 
but  where  did  you  obtain  your  knowledge  ? ' 


A   TROUBLE   WITH    MANY    BLESSINGS.  65 

"  *  From  you,  to  be  sure  ;  who  brought  us  the  news 
of  salvation  but  yourself?' 

"'True/  I  replied,  'but  I  do  not  ever  recollect  to 
have  seen 'you  at  either  of  the  settlements  to  hear  me 
speak  of  these  things,  and  how  do  you  obtain  your 
knowledge  of  them  ? ' 

" '  Why/  he  said,  '  as  the  people  return  from  the 
services,  I  take  my  seat  by  the  way  side,  and  beg  a 
bit  of  the  Word  of  them  as  they  pass  by ;  one  gives 
me  one  piece,  another  another  piece,  and  I  collect 
them  together  in  my  heart,  and  by  thinking  over  what 
I  thus  obtain,  and  praying  to  God  to  make  me  know, 
I  understand  a  little  about  His  Word.' " 

"His  knowledge,"  says  Mr.  Williams,  "was  such  as 
to  afford  me  both  astonishment  and  delight,  and  I 
seldom  passed  his  house,  after  this  interview,  without 
holding  an  interesting  conversation  with  him." 

Encouraging  as  such  an  incident  was,  Mr.  Williams 
could  not  remain  contented  at  Raratonga.  He  began 
to  think  with  much  anxiety  about  the  converts  whom 
he  had  left  in  Raiatea,  and  in  the  spirit  of  the  Arab 
warrior,  who  rode  into  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic, 
longing  to  carry  his  religion  to  the  lands  beyond,  Mr. 
Williams  pondered  anxiously  upon  the  islands  as  yet 
unvisited  by  the  Gospel.  This  longing,  which  was 
undoubtedly  a  call  from  God,  had,  before  he  left 
Raiatea,  led  him  to  resolve  to  visit  the  Samoan  Islands. 
But  his  wife  then  not  unnaturally  objected  to  the 
perils  of  his  long  voyage.  "You  will  be  eighteen 
hundred  miles  away,"  she  said,  "six  months  absent, 
and  among  the  most  savage  people  we  are  acquainted 
with.  If  you  should  lose  your  life,  I  shall  be  left  a 
widow,  with  my  fatherless  children,  twenty  thousand 
miles  from  my  friends  and  my  home  !  "  Mr.  Williams, 
in  compliance  with  this  appeal,  abandoned  his  project, 

E 


66  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

and  did  not  again  name  it  to  his  wife.  But  now,  at 
Raratonga,  Mrs.  Williams  was  visited  by  a  severe  ill- 
ness, which  threatened  to  terminate  her  life,  and  during 
this  season  of  affliction  she  examined  carefully  her 
past  career,  and  at  length  concluded  that  her  sickness 
was  sent  as  a  punishment  for  her  opposition  to  her 
husband's  wishes.  So,  upon  arriving  at  this  opinion, 
she  at  once  said  to  her  husband,  "  From  this  time 
your  desire  has  my  full  concurrence ;  and,  when  you 
go,  I  shall  follow  you  every  day  with  my  prayers,  that 
God  may  preserve  you  from  danger,  crown  your 
attempt  with  success,  and  bring  you  back  in  safety." 
Mr.  Williams  immediately  exclaimed,  "  This  is  the 
finger  of  God,"  and  resolved  to  attempt  the  voyage 
forthwith. 

But  for  some  months  no  ship  had  visited  Raratonga, 
and  as  "  he  was  never  more  himself  than  when  cir- 
cumstances demanded  an  unusual  amount  of  skill  and 
labour,"  he  resolved  to  build  a  vessel.  Although 
without  any  knowledge  of  ship-building,  and  even 
without  the  necessary  tools,  which  he  had  first  to  con- 
struct, in  less  than  three  months  he  constructed  a 
vessel  of  from  70  to  80  tons  burden.  Remembering 
the  purpose  for  which  he  designed  T/ie  Messenger  of 
Peace,  as  he  named  the  ship,  this  vessel  has  been 
rightly  termed  "  no  less  the  evidence  of  his  fervid 
piety  than  of  his  matchless  skill."  The  story  of  this 
achievement  reads  like  a  romance,  but  it  is  too  long 
for  insertion  here.  As  a  specimen  of  his  difficulties, 
it  may  be  noticed  that  when  he  commenced  he  had 
no  bellows  at  all  adequate  for  smith's  work.  As  he 
had  resolved  to  make  himself  a  pair,  the  only  four 
goats  in  the  island  were  slaughtered,  and  their  skins 
prepared  for  this  purpose.  Alas,  the  bellows  thus 
constructed  did  not  answer  the  maker's  expectations ; 


^^»r!<t>.•'SC^~ 


6; 


A   TROUBLE   WITH    MANY   BLESSINGS.  6g 

moreover,  the  rats  ate  every  particle  of  leather,  and 
left  nothing  of  the  unfortunate  bellows  but  two  bare 
boards.  Nothing  daunted  by  this  ill-fortune,  Mr. 
Williams  tried  again,  but  this  time  he  contrived  a 
wooden  box  that  threw  wind  as  a  pump  throws  water. 
By  the  aid  of  this  machine  he  did  all  the  iron  work 
requisite  for  the  vessel  ;  the  timbers,  however,  owing 
to  the  scarcity  of  nails,  were  mostly  fastened  by  long 
wooden  pins.  The  delight  of  the  natives  was  un- 
bounded when,  for  the  first  time,  they  witnessed  the 
welding  of  iron.  "  Why  did  we  not  think  of  heating 
the  hard  stuff,"  they  exclaimed,  "  instead  of  beating 
it  with  stones  ?  What  a  reign  of  dark  hearts  Satan's 
is." 

After  the  ship  had  been  successfully  launched,  she 
made  a  trial  trip  to  Aitutaki,  which  was  about  170 
miles  distant  from  Raratonga.  Makea,  the  king  of 
Raratonga,  accompanied  Mr.  Williams  in  this  voyage, 
which  proved  the  seaworthiness  of  T/ie  Messenger  of 
Peace.  From  Aitutaki  a  cargo  of  cocoa-nuts,  pio"s, 
and  cats  was  brought,  and  the  new  animals  speedily 
reduced  the  number  of  the  rats  that  had  previously 
swarmed  over  Raratonga.  Upon  his  return  from  this 
short  voyage,  Mr.  Williams  found  that,  during  his 
absence,  the  natives  had  removed  the  rubbish  that  had 
accumulated  during  the  building  of  The  Messenger  of 
Peace ;  they  had  replanted  the  shrubs,  repaired  the 
fences,  saying,  "We  will  not  leave  a  chip  against  which, 
on  his  return,  he  shall  strike  his  feet." 

Mr.  Williams'  leaving  was  also  facilitated  by  the 
arrival  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Buzzacott,  who  landed  at 
Raratonga  in  February,  1828.  Mr.  Buzzacott  had 
brought  with  him  a  quantity  of  iron,  which  proved 
invaluable  in  strengthening  The  Messenger  of  Peace ; 
but  he  also  brought  sad  tidings  from  Raiatea ;  the 


70  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

teacher  left  in  charge  there  had  died,  and  his  successor 
had  proved  himself  unequal  to  the  task  which  had 
devolved  upon  him,  and  in  consequence  the  people 
had  disagreed.  At  Rurutu  the  two  teachers  had 
quarrelled  ;  and,  moreover,  two  of  the  mission  boats 
had  been  cast  away,  and  thus  seventy-six  lives  had 
been  lost. 

Leaving  Mr.  Buzzacott  to  Mr.  Pitman's  care,  Mr. 
Williams  started  for  Tahiti,  which  he  reached  after  a 
fourteen  days'  sail.  From  thence  he  went  on  to 
Raiatea,  arriving  off  this  island  on  the  26th  of  April, 
1828.  He  now  generously  agreed  to  lend  his  Messejt- 
ger  of  Peace  to  the  Society,  and  Mr.  Pritchard  and 
Mr.  Simpson  started  in  her,  to  visit  the  Marquesan 
group  of  islands,  where  they  hoped  to  establish  a 
mission.  They  were  about  twelve  months  absent, 
after  which  voyage  they  visited  the  Hervey  Islands. 
During  this  period,  Mr.  Williams  was  resolutely 
endeavouring  to  reduce  the  mission  affairs  to  order. 
He  found,  on  his  arrival  from  Aitutaki,  the  news  of 
his  father's  death  awaiting  him  ;  after  this  bereave- 
ment, death  entered  his  own  household,  removing 
this  time  a  newly  born  babe.  While  suffering  from 
these  afflictions,  which  he  keenly  felt,  Mr.  Williams 
was  greatly  cheered  by  a  successful  missionary  meet- 
ing, held  at  this  time.  The  Christians  came  in  large 
crowds  from  other  islands,  and  ten  large,  decked  boats 
lay  at  one  time  in  the  harbour. 

Unable  himself  to  leave  Raiatea,  Mr.  Williams  sent 
a  small  schooner-rigged  boat  to  visit  the  remote 
mission  settlements.  This  was  the  first  expedition 
that  had  been  commanded  by  a  native,  and  to  Mr. 
Williams'  joy  it  proved  highly  successful. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  following  year,  1829,  he 
was  himself  able  to  visit  Rurutu.     Here  he  investi- 


A  TROUBLE  WITH   MANY   BLESSINGS.  7 1 

gated  some  charges  brought  against  Puna,  the  native 
teacher,  and  was  able  to  not  only  acquit,  but  to 
commend  him.  While  at  Rurutu,  Mr.  Williams  met 
a  native  chief  who  had  been  waiting  at  this  island 
for  more  than  two  years,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  a 
teacher  for  his  native  land.  During  this  exile,  the 
man's  wife  and  two  children  had  died,  but  he  had 
refused  to  return  to  his  home  until  he  had  accom- 
plished his  purpose.  "  I  have  been  bearing  all 
patiently,"  said  this  noble  man,  Philip  the  chief  of 
Tubai,  "  as  I  hope  to  effect  an  object  that  will  be 
good  to  my  land."  Mr.  Williams  was  altogether  five 
weeks  away  from  Raiatea,  while  on  this  voyage. 

After  his  return,  he  was  much  encouraged  by  the 
visit  in  succession  of  three  vessels,  whose  officers  most 
happily  aided  the  missionaries.  The  first  to  arrive 
was  the  Satelite  sloop  of  war ;  the  second  was  the 
U.S.  ship  Vincennes ;  the  chaplain  of  which  latter 
vessel  thus  records  his  opinion  of  the  mission:  "Much 
as  the  sincerity  and  piety  of  the  church  members 
in  this  island  have  been  doubted,  from  all  that 
I  have  observed,  I  was  led  to  the  fervent  prayer  that 
I  might  myself  at  last  be  equally  worthy  with  many 
of  these  of  a  seat  at  the  marriage  supper  of  the 
Lamb."  An  even  more  weighty  testimony  to  the 
triumph  of  the  Gospel  was  given  by  the  commander 
of  H.M.S.  Sermgapatam,  the  third  vessel  that  touched 
at  Raiatea  about  this  time.  His  opinion  is  all  the 
more  important  because  he  and  his  officers  at  first 
rather  doubted  the  piety  and  sincerity  of  the  natives. 
Mr.  Williams,  upon  hearing  their  suspicions,  at  once 
suggested  that  the  officers  should  themselves  person- 
ally examine  the  converts  ;  a  proposition  to  which 
they  agreed.  In  three  houses  the  Englishmen  pro- 
posed a  series  of  questions    obtaining  such  answers 


72  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

as  clearly  convinced  them  that  the  natives  were  not 
mere  parrots,  repeating  words  which  they  had  heard 
without  understanding  their  import.  As  an  example 
of  native  reasoning,  the  reply  of  an  old  priest  to  the 
question,  "  Do  you  believe  the  Bible  to  be  the  Word 
of  God,  and  Christianity  to  be  of  Divine  origin  ? " 
deserves  notice.  The  man  lifted  up  his  hands,  and 
rapidly  moved  his  fingers  and  his  wrists  ;  he  then 
opened  and  closed  his  mouth,  after  which,  lifting  his 
leg  he  moved  it  in  different  directions.  "  I  have 
hinges  all  over  rae,"  he  said,  "  if  I  wish  to  handle 
anything,  the  hinges  in  my  hands  enable  me  to  do  it. 
If  I  want  to  utter  anything,  the  hinges  to  my  jaws 
enable  me  to  say  it.  If  I  wish  to  go  anywhere,  here 
are  hinges  to  my  legs  to  enable  me  to  walk.  When 
I  look  into  the  Bible,  I  see  there  proofs  of  wisdom 
which  correspond  exactly  with  those  which  appear  in 
my  frame.  I  conclude  therefore  that  the  maker  of 
my  body  is  the  author  of  that  Book."  This  Paley-like 
argument  quite  convinced  the  officers  that  neither 
this  man  nor  the  other  converts  were  as  they  had 
suspected,  and  they  cheerfully  bore  testimony  to  the 
intelligence  of  these  ingenious  reasoners. 

After  the  Seringapatavi  had  left  the  island,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Williams  paid  a  brief  visit  to  Tahiti,  whither 
they  conveyed  their  two  sons  for  education.  They 
had  not  long  returned  home  before  a  terrible 
hurricane  burst  upon  Raratonga.  It  uprooted  great 
trees,  demolished  several  houses,  and  partially  un- 
roofed the  chapel.  While  Mr.  Williams  was  busily 
engaged  in  repairing  the  damage  caused  by  this  storm, 
The  Messenger  of  Peace  returned.  She  entered  the 
harbour  the  25th  of  February,  1830,  and  Mr.  Williams 
immediately  commenced  preparing  for  his  long  antici- 
pated visit  to  the  Samoan  group  of  islands. 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  SOWING  WITH   MANY   HARVESTS. 

1830-1832. 

"  Who  loves  the  Lord  aright, 

No  soul  of  man  can  useless  find, 
All  will  be  precious  in  His  sight, 
Since  Christ  on  all  hath  shined." 

Keble. 

"Next  to  the  duty  of  personally  receiving  the  truth  is  the 
duty  of  diffusing  it."— Dr.  Campbell. 

ALTHOUGH  the  expected  supplies  from  England 
had  not  arrived,  Mr.  Williams  started  upon  his 
voyage  to  Samoa,  about  a  fortnight  after  the 
departure  of  the  Seringapatam.  Mr.  Barff 
accompanied  him,  and  the  missionaries  took  several 
native  teachers  from  Raiatea  with  them  as  evangelists 
for  the  new  sphere  of  labour  which  they  were  opening 
up.  Mr.  Williams  had  been  stationed  at  Raiatea  for 
eleven  years  when  he  left  that  island  on  the  24th  of 
May,  1830,  upon  this  new  expedition.  Although  it 
was  out  of  the  direct  course  to  do  so,  The  Messenger  of 
Peace  visited  the  Hervey  group,  arriving  at  Mangaia 
after  a  five  days'  run.     The  Mission  station  came  into 


74  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

sight  on  the  Sunday  evening,  and  on  the  following 
morning,  the  missionaries  went  on  shore.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  the  first  teachers  had  been  so 
shamefully  abused  by  the  natives,  that  Mr.  Williams 
had  taken  them  away  from  Mangaia.  But  the  two 
single  men,  who  had  subsequently  taken  up  the 
work,  had  met  with  such  signal  success  that  near  five 
hundred  Christians  greeted  Mr.  Williams.  These 
were  of  course  still  very  ignorant ;  but  they  seized  the 
opportunity  presented  by  Mr.  Williams'  visit  of  naming 
their  various  difficulties  to  him.  For  instance  they 
were  greatly  exercised  as  to  the  lawfulness  or  other- 
wise of  rat  eating.  It  had  been  a  common  native 
proverb,  in  describing  a  delicacy,  to  say,  "  It  is  as 
sweet  as  a  rat."  These  rats  were  caught  in  holes  dug 
for  that  purpose  ;  their  hair  was  singed  off  on  hot 
stones,  and  then,  having  been  wrapped  in  leaves,  they 
were  baked.  Though  the  natives  had  previously 
regarded  baked  rat  as  their  national  dish,  the  new 
disciples  were  troubled  with  scruples  as  to  the  lawful- 
ness of  the  food.  Mr.  Williams,  in  answer  to  their 
questions,  told  them  that  the  wisest  course  would  be 
to  take  care  of  the  pigs  and  goats  which  he  had  sent 
them,  and  then  they  would  not  require  rat-meat, 
which  Europeans  generally  considered  to  be  very 
disgusting. 

A  greater  difficulty  arose  from  the  fact  that  the 
women  had  been  previously  compelled  to  labour  for 
hours  in  the  swampy  taro  (or  sweet  potato)  beds.  Mr. 
Williams  interceded  on  their  behalf,  and  the  females 
were  henceforth  released  from  this  degrading  and 
unhealthy  toil.  He  was  also  enabled  to  soften  the 
hostility  of  the  heathen  party,  which  was  strong  in 
Mangaia,  and  very  much  enraged  against  the  Gospel. 
Eventually  the  conduct  of  the  heathen,  who  persisted 


75 


A   SOWING  WITH   MANY    HARVESTS.  TJ 

in  dancing  near  the  place  of  worship,  repeatedly- 
threatening  to  kill  the  Christians  and  burn  their 
houses,  led  to  a  conflict  in  which  the  idolaters  were 
beaten.  Unhappily  the  victors  were  so  unmerciful 
in  their  conduct  towards  the  vanquished,  that  the 
heathen  continued  bitterly  resentful  and  hostile, 
though  quite  impotent  to  harm  the  Christians.  As 
yet  things  had  not  developed  into  actual  war ;  and 
Mr.  Williams  did  his  utmost  to  allay  the  angry  feel- 
ings of  both  parties.  He  also  desired  to  remove  one 
of  the  teachers  for  service  in  Samoa,  but  even  the 
heathen  requested  him  not  to  do  so,  and  the  man  was 
permitted  to  remain  in  Mangaia. 

From  Mangaia,  TJie  Messe?iger  of  Peace  proceeded 
to  Atiu,  an  island  distant  two  days'  sail.  A  great 
advance  had  been  made  here  also,  under  the  efforts 
of  the  two  devoted  teachers  who  had  been  for  some 
time  stationed  at  Atiu.  But  the  wives  of  these 
teachers  complained  much  that  their  husbands  had 
to  work  so  hard  all  the  week,  and  especially  upon 
Saturdays,  when  they  went  fishing  all  day  in  order  to 
provide  food  for  Sunday,  that  they  found  it  a  difficult 
matter  to  teach  on  Sunday.  The  women  themselves, 
during  their  husbands'  absence,  would  write  down  upon 
slates  any  portions  of  sermons  which  they  could 
remember  to  have  heard  from  the  missionaries,  but 
they  begged  hard  for  some  sermon  helps.  "  You," 
they  said,  "  resemble  springs  from  which  knowledge 
is  continually  bubbling  up,  so  that  you  have  nothing 
to  do  but  open  your  mouth,  and  out  it  flows." 

After  responding  to  this  request  to  the  best  of  his 
ability,  Mr.  Williams  visited  Mauke  and  Mitiaro,  the 
chief  of  which  islands  was  staying  in  Atiu  when  he 
arrived  there.  At  Mauke  he  was  much  struck  with  the 
pulpit  of  the  little  chapel ;  it  had  been  hewn  out  of  a 


78  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

large  tree.  At  Raratonga,  where  they  now  proceeded, 
they  were  met  with  tidings  of  great  disaster.  A  dread- 
ful pestilence  had  broken  out  in  the  island,  immediately 
after  the  visit  of  a  European  ship,  and  such  were  its 
ravages  that,  in  one  district  alone,  nearly  six  hundred 
people  had  died  in  a  very  short  time  from  this  fearful 
plague.  Instead  of  the  thousands  that  had  lined  the 
water's  edge  at  his  previous  visit,  only  a  few  children, 
and  still  fewer  terror-stricken  adults,  came  to  tell  of 
their  bereavements.  Mr.  Barff  fortunately  had  a  large 
stock  of  medicines  with  him  ;  these  were  at  once 
landed  ;  and  after  thus  doing  all  that  lay  in  their 
power  to  assist  their  suffering  friends,  and  alleviate 
their  distress,  the  voyagers  went  on  to  Aitutaki. 
They  landed  with  the  intention  of  removing  the 
two  teachers  stationed  there  in  order  to  convey  them 
to  Samoa.  But,  as  at  Mangaia,  the  attachment  of 
the  converts  to  their  teachers  was  so  strong,  and  they 
begged  so  piteously  that  their  benefactors  might  not 
be  taken  away,  that,  as  at  Mangaia,  Mr.  Williams 
consented  to  their  request. 

To  supply  the  vacancy  thus  created  in  the  number 
of  his  workers,  he  selected  two  of  the  converts  of 
Aitutaki  as  missionaries  for  Samoa.  He  was  very 
much  pleased  with  the  missionary  ardour  of  the 
Christians  in  Aitutaki  ;  they  placed  in  his  hands  the 
(for  them)  magnificent  sum  of  ;^I03  as  a  contribution 
towards  the  London  Missionary  Society.  This  large 
amount  had  been  realised  by  the  sale  of  pigs.  Each 
family  in  the  island  had  dedicated  a  pig  to  "  help  the 
good  work  of  causing  the  Word  of  God  to  grow  ; " 
and  these,  when  sold  to  vessels  that  had  touched  at 
Aitutaki,  had  realised  the  amount  of  money  named 
before.  Greatly  encouraged  by  this  liberality,  and 
also  by  the  highly  successful  classes  that  had   been 


A   SOWING   WITH   MANY    HARVESTS.  79 

conducted  by  the  teachers,  Mr.  Williams  now  steered 
to  Savage  Island.  Five  days'  sail  brought  the  mission- 
aries to  this  rightly  named  place.  With  very  great 
difficulty  they  at  length  induced  a  chief  to  come  on 
board,  but  he  proved  utterly  untamable.  When 
offered  a  piece  of  cloth  to  cover  his  naked  form,  the 
old  man  tore  it  from  him,  and  shouted,  "  Am  I  a 
woman  that  I  should  be  encumbered  with  this  stuff?" 
During  the  whole  time  he  was  upon  the  deck,  this 
savage  maintained  a  fearful  howl ;  he  danced  up  and 
down  furiously,  and  gnashed  his  teeth,  concluding  the 
exhibition  by  thrusting  his  beard  into  his  mouth,  and 
gnawing  it  viciously.  Nor  did  he  appear  exception- 
ally repulsive ;  all  his  fellow-countrymen  appeared 
like  him.  The  teachers  intended  for  Savage  Island 
begged  hard  not  to  be  left  among  such  degraded 
creatures.  Mr.  Williams  deemed  it  prudent  to 
accede  to  their  request,  but  he  induced  two  young 
men  from  Savage  Island  to  come  on  board,  and  took 
them  away  with  him.  He  hoped  that  after  they  had 
learned  to  love  the  missionaries,  these  young  men 
would  influence  their  fellow-countrymen  for  good. 

With  these  two  savages  on  board.  The  Messenger 
of  Peace  made  a  quick  run  of  3.50  miles  to  Tonga, 
where  they  stayed  for  a  fortnight.  The  Wesleyan 
missionaries,  who  were  stationed  there,  accorded  their 
visitors  a  hearty  reception.  At  Tonga,  Mr.  Williams 
met  with  Fauea,  a  Samoan  chief,  who  consented  to 
accompany  him  to  Fauea's  native  land.  As  Fauea 
was  related  to  the  chief  families  in  Samoa,  it  was  con- 
sidered a  fortunate  circumstance  that  they  had  met 
with  him  ;  and,  as  he  was  a  Christian,  it  was  expected 
that  he  would  be  of  great  service  to  the  mission. 

Another  providential  circumstance  was  that  here 
Mr.  Williams  was  warned  that  the  natives  of  Erro- 


8o  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

manga  were  much  exasperated  by  the  conduct  of 
some  white  men  who  had  landed  on  their  island. 
Mr.  Williams,  after  due  consideration,  took  the  advice 
of  his  friends,  and  did  not  go  on  to  Erromanga  as  he 
at  first  intended  ;  had  he  done  so,  in  all  probability 
he  would  have  then  met  with  the  fate  that  nine  years 
afterwards  befell  him  at  that  island.  Thus  God's 
watchful  care  over  His  servant  was  equally  evident 
both  in  the  opening  of  the  way  to  Samoa,  and  in  the 
closing  of  the  course  to  the  New  Hebrides. 

While  at  Tonga,  a  chief  of  the  Fiji  Islands  expressed 
his  desire  for  teachers,  and  it  was  agreed  between  the 
missionaries  that  the  Wesleyan  Society  should  under- 
take the  Fiji  group,  leaving  the  Samoan  Islands  to  the 
London  Missionary  Society.  The  extreme  wisdom  of 
this  arrangement  is  self-evident ;  in  all  probability  the 
wonderful  success  of  both  missions  is  a  result  of  the 
fidelity  with  which  this  compact  has  been  observed. 
From  the  differences  of  mental  temperament,  there 
must  of  necessity  exist  varieties  of  belief  among  those 
who  equally  hold  the  doctrines  that  cluster  round  the 
Cross  ;  it  is,  however,  surely  wise  in  dealing  with  the 
heathen  not  to  make  a  religion  of  such  trifles,  to  the 
serious  detriment  of  the  new  converts.  After  con- 
cluding this  important  arrangement,  Mr.  Williams, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Cross,  one  of  the  Tongan  mission- 
aries, went  on  to  Lefuga,  a  station  of  the  Wesleyan 
Society.  The  pilot,  unfortunately,  mistook  the 
channel,  which  placed  the  ship  in  some  peril.  For 
two  days  they  made  their  way  through  sunken  rocks, 
sand-banks,  and  small  islands,  before  they  reached  a 
safe  anchorage. 

At  Lefuga,  they  fortunately  found  Finau,  a  chief  of 
the  Vauvau  Islands,  where  Mr.  Williams  intended 
leaving  a  teacher.     But  Finau,  though  he  promised 


A   SOWING   WITH    MANY   HARVESTS.  8 1 

to  protect  the  life  of  any  teacher  who  might  be  placed 
with  him,  declared  that,  should  any  of  his  own  subjects 
become  Christians,  he  would  certainly  put  them  to 
death.  This  they  found  was  likely  to  prove  no  mere 
threat,  as  the  chief  had  for  a  long  time  been  resolute 
in  his  opposition  to  the  Gospel.  When  the  chief  of 
Lefuga,  who  was  his  relative,  abandoned  the  worship 
of  idols,  Finau  had  sent  him  a  large  war  canoe,  as 
a  bribe  to  induce  him  to  return  to  heathenism.  But 
the  chief  of  Lefuga  nobly  refused  to  accept  the  present, 
and  declared  that,  valuable  as  the  canoe  was,  the  con- 
ditions upon  which  it  was  offered  rendered  it  only  so 
much  firewood  in  his  estimation.  In  Vauvau  many 
were  equally  resolute  in  their  adherence  to  the 
Gospel  ;  and,  as  Finau  persecuted  them,  they  aban- 
doned their  families  and  possessions  and  came  to 
Lefuga,  where  they  enjoyed  Christian  teaching,  and 
possessed  religious  liberty.  Mr.  Williams  saw  clearly 
that  there  was  no  opportunity  for  religious  work  at 
Vauvau,  and,  without  wasting  time  in  attempting  the 
impossible,  he  made  sail  at  once  for  Samoa. 

For  seven  long  days  his  course  lay  through  violent 
storms,  which  they  were  the  less  able  to  contend 
against  on  account  of  an  influenza  that  incapacitated 
all  on  board.  At  length,  to  their  no  small  relief,  they 
sighted  the  peaks  of  Savaii,  the  largest  island  of  the 
Samoan  group.  These  islands,  sometimes  called, 
"  The  Navigators'  Islands"  (Mr.  Williams  suggests 
that  the  name  was  given  on  account  of  the  superior 
skill  displayed  by  the  natives  in  the  construction  of 
their  canoes,  as  well  as  on  account  of  their  great 
dexterity  in  the  water),  number  eight,  which  are 
divided  into  the  Windward  and  Leeward  groups. 
The  natives  of  the  Windward  group  give  a  nasal 
sound  to  many  words,  as  do  not  the  others.     Samoa 

F 


82  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

is  the  native  name  for  the  cluster.  The  mountains  of 
Savaii  are  clothed  with  luxurious  foliage  right  up  to 
their  summits,  and  the  peaks  are  visible  at  a  distance 
of  seventy  miles. 

The  soil  of  Samoa  is  very  fertile,  and  since  the 
introduction  of  the  Gospel  it  has  been  cultivated  with 
great  advantage.  Large  crops  of  maize,  cotton,  nut- 
megs, coffee,  sugar-cane,  arrowroot,  tapioca,  barley 
and  rice,  are  now  obtained  from  these  dry  soils.  The 
water  supply  is  excellent,  and  it  is  derived  both  from 
springs  that  are  never  dry,  and  from  the  abundant 
rainfall.  Nearly  every  ravine  boasts  of  its  torrent, 
which  is  fed  by  innumerable  rivulets  and  dashing 
waterfalls.  It  is  true  that  few  of  these  streams  ever 
reach  the  sea,  for  they  are  absorbed  by  the  thirsty 
lands,  that  imbibe  them  as  would  a  sponge.  Thus  a 
bed  of  dry  stones  alone  marks  the  channel  near  the 
sea  of  what  inland  is  a  large  river. 

The  natives,  when  first  discovered  by  Mr.  Williams, 
were  of  course  not  so  successful  in  farming  as  they  are 
now,  after  they  have  been  instructed  by  European 
teachers.  But  that  they  were  naturally  ingenious 
appeared  from  the  construction  both  of  their  canoes 
and  of  their  houses.  Their  boats  were  made  from  small 
pieces  of  bread-fruit,  which  were  very  neatly  fitted 
together.  Along  the  edge  of  each  section  was  a  small 
ridge,  which  was  pierced  with  holes.  Through  these 
.holes  lashings  of  cinet,  which  is  the  native  twine,  were 
passed,  and  thus  the  whole  was  held  firmly  together. 
The  outer  surface  was  quite  smooth,  and  Mr.  Williams 
says  that  "  a  new  canoe  is  really  a  handsome  and 
ingenious  piece  of  workmanship,  very  different  to  the 
thick,  awkward  Tahitian  canoes.  I  do  not  think  that 
they  are  excelled  in  the  construction  and  workman- 
ship of  their  canoes  by  any  islanders  in  the  South 


A   SOWING   WITH   MANY   HARVESTS.  83 

Seas,  with  the  sole  exception  of  the  King's  Mill 
Islanders.  These  latter  build  their  canoes  very  much 
like  a  whale-boat,  and  that  out  of  small  pieces  of 
plank  which  are  not  any  of  them  above  two  inches 
wide  ;  these  sections  are  all  lashed  firmly  together  by 
cinet" 

"  In  the  construction  of  their  houses  "  continues  the 
journal  from  which  we  have  just  quoted,  "they  also 
display  considerable  taste.  The  spacious  houses 
which  are  intended  for  public  entertainments  are 
neatly  and  firmly  put  together.  In  shape,  they  are 
between  a  round  and  an  oval.  First,  two  or  three 
large  posts  are  fixed  in  the  ground  in  order  to  support 
a  short  ridge  pole,  of  from  four  to  six  feet  in  length. 
Rafters  and  thatch  are  then  placed  upon  this  ridge 
pole  ;  and  they  then  form  the  round  ends  for  the  nar- 
row extremities  of  the  building.  The  rafters  are 
placed  endways,  and  are  formed  from  the  wood  of  the 
bread-fruit  tree  ;  some  of  them  are  no  thicker  than 
the  middle  finger.  They  are  also  in  pieces  of  not 
more  than  two  feet  in  length,  but  are  so  neatly  united 
and  the  joint  is  so  firmly  lashed  round  by  cinet,  that 
the  joints  are  not  perceptible.  They  use  the  sugar- 
cane leaf  for  thatching,  but  the  thatch  inside  the 
house  does  not  look  so  neat  and  pretty  as  that  of  the 
Tahitian  houses.  But  the  rafters  are  much  more  so, 
for  they  are  so  small,  so  carefully  and  regularly 
arranged,  and  are  moreover  neatly  joined  together. 
These  large  public  buildings  are  generally  open  all 
round  at  the  sides,  and  are  covered  with  mats  as  a 
carpet.  They  are  often  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  long, 
and  about  thirty  or  five-and-thirty  feet  wide.  The 
dwelling-houses  of  the  natives  are  similar  both  in 
material  and  in  shape,  but  they  are  much  smaller  and 
lower  of  course." 


84  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

.  Our  illustration   on    page    87    represents   a   native 
Samoan  village. 

But  we  must  now  relate  the  events  that  followed  the 
arrival  of  Mr.  Williams.  His  landing  in  Samoa  at  this 
juncture  was  remarkable  and  opportune,  and  is  an 
example  of  the  mysterious  leadings  of  Providence. 
God  had  from  afar  been  preparing  the  way  for  him 
in  a  most  remarkable  manner.  The  attention  of  the 
Samoans  had  been  arrested  by  a  recent  prophecy 
delivered  by  a  dying  chief.  He  predicted  that  the 
worship  of  the  Spirits  should  soon  cease  throughout 
Samoa,  and  that  a  great  white  chief  should  come  from 
beyond  the  distant  horizon,  who  would  overthrow 
their  religion,  and  that  all  this  would  happen  very 
shortly  after  his  own  death.  This  singular  statement, 
which  predisposed  the  people  in  favour  of  Mr. 
Williams,  was  only  one  of  several  circumstances  that 
equally  conduced  to  the  same  result.  The  most 
notable  of  these  was,  that  a  fev/  days  before  his 
arrival,  Tamafainga  had  been  killed.  There  had  not 
been  time  enough  to  elect  a  successor,  and  thus  an 
almost  insuperable  obstacle  to  the  success  of  the 
Gospel  was  removed  out  of  the  way.  So  keenly  did 
his  friend  Fauea,  the  Samoan  chief,  realise  this,  that, 
upon  learning  the  fact  of  Tamafainga's  death,  he 
shouted  as  he.  danced  upon  the  deck, '' The  devil  is 
dead  !  The  devil  is  dead  !  Our  work  is  done !  The 
devil  is  dead  ! "  Subsequently  they  learned  that  this 
Tamafainga  had  possessed  despotic  spiritual  and 
temporal  power,  because  he  was  supposed  to  be  an 
incarnation  of  the  evil  spirits.  For  this  reason,  he 
had  been  adopted  in  his  infancy  by  a  great  chief 
He  was  esteemed  so  sacred,  that  he  was  not  tattooed  ; 
and  though  he  possessed  little  property  himself,  all 
the  chiefs  paid  homage  to  him,  because  they  believed 


A   SOWING  WITH   MANY   HARVESTS.  85 

that  "  the  spirit  of  the  devil  resided  in  him,  and  that 
he  had  power  to  inflict  disease  and  death  at  his  will." 
He  was  consulted  as  an  oracle  upon  all  occasions,  and 
as  his  predictions  had  sometimes  been  fulfilled,  he 
was  held  in  great  esteem. 

As  an  example  of  his  shrewd  guessing,  or  whatever 
else  his  gift  was,  it  is  related  that  a  trading  canoe 
once  kidnapped  a  young  woman  in  place  of  a  runaway 
slave.  Tamafainga  comforted  the  parents  by  assuring 
them  that  a  foul  wind  would  drive  the  robbers  back 
on  the  next  day  ;  and  as  this  was  so,  Tamafaino-a 
received  additional  glory  from  what  was  probably  his 
weather  wisdom.  We  are  not  informed  as  to  how 
many  failures  he  may  be  credited  with.  Attended  by 
a  bodyguard  of  six  wild  young  men,  he  went  through 
Samoa,  his  companions  robbing  and  destroying  in 
wanton  mischief  and  sheer  love  of  wickedness.  At 
length,  an  act  of  more  than  usual  atrocity,  that  cannot 
be  detailed  here,  enraged  the  people  of  Upolu  so 
much  that  they  destroyed  this  monster  of  wickedness, 
for  such  he  really  was. 

Although  the  chiefs  were  not  sorry  to  be  delivered 
from  the  odious  tyranny  under  which  they,  as  well 
as  their  people,  had  suffered,  the  system  of  blood 
revenge,  and  above  all  the  need  of  securing  their  own 
authority,  compelled  them  to  avenge  Tamafainga's 
death.  Malietoa,  the  king,  was  making  war  upon  the 
murderers  when  The  Messenger  of  Peace  dropped 
anchor  at  Sapapalia,  his  capital.  His  brother 
Tamalelangi  at  once  despatched  a  messenger  request- 
ing the  king  to  return  home  immediately,  and,  pendino- 
his  brother's  arrival,  Tamalelangi  exerted  himself  to 
welcome  the  missionaries.  Fauea  was  now  amono-  his 
own  friends,  and  he  earnestly  exhorted  them  to  receive 
cordially    both    the    strangers    and    their    message. 


86  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

Encouraged  by  him,  the  natives  became  so  familiar 
that  they  began  to  examine  the  dress  of  the  mission- 
aries, and  while  doing  so,  one  of  them  pulled  off 
Mr.  Williams'  shoe.  The  Samoans  were  amazed  to 
find  that  apparently  the  white  chief  had  no  toes,  and 
whispered  this  astounding  discovery  to  Fauca.  That 
chief  replied  at  once  that  the  white  man  had  clothes 
upon  his  feet,  a  statement  which  they  verified  at  once 
to  their  own  satisfaction.  Fauea  now  rendered  the 
missionaries  a  great  service,  for  when  Tamalelangi, 
the  king's  brother,  sent  cocoanuts,  pigs,  and  bananas 
to  the  ship  for  sale,  he  informed  this  chief  that  TJic 
Messenger  of  Peace  was  a  praying  vessel.  Upon 
hearing  this,  Tamalelangi  refused  to  accept  payment 
for  the  food  which  he  had  sent  on  board.  Stimulated 
by  this  act  of  generosity,  the  teachers  determined  to 
land  ;  accordingly  eight  men  with  their  wives  and 
children  went  on  shore. 

Those  who  remained  on  board  beheld  dense  columns 
of  smoke  mingled  with  flame  arising  from  the  direc- 
tion of  Upolu.  Here  Malietoa  was  avenging  the 
death  of  Tamafainga,  while  his  brother,  at  Sapapalia, 
was  welcoming  the  ministers  of  that  Gospel  w^hich  is 
peace  and  goodwill  towards  men.  In  the  course  of  the 
evening,  Malietoa  himself  arrived  from  the  seat  of  war, 
and  came  off'  to  the  vessel.  While  he  was  convers- 
ing with  the  white  chiefs,  Mr.  Williams  experienced 
another  marvellous  deliverance  from  death.  Malietoa 
took  down  a  brass  blunderbuss  which  the  captain 
had  previously  loaded  with  no  less  than  eight  bullets, 
and,  after  curiously  examining  the  weapon,  pointed  it 
at  Mr.  Williams,  and  was  about  to  pull  the  trigger. 
The  captain,  at  this  instant,  rushed  into  the  cabin, 
and  prevented  him  from  firing  off  the  weapon.  Thus, 
once  again,  God   interposed   to  save  the  life  of  His 


87 


A   SOWING   WITH    MANY   HARVESTS.  89 

servant,  who  was,  as  we  all  are,  immortal  until  his 
work  was  fully  done.  The  next  day,  after  sunset, 
Messrs.  Williams  and  Barff  landed.  An  immense 
crowd  met  them,  some  having  lighted  torches,  and 
others,  more  timid,  climbing,  Zacchaeus-like,  into  the 
trees,  there  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  these  singular 
strangers.  As  Mr.  Williams  complained  of  feeling 
fatigued,  he  and  his  comrade  were  seized  and  carried 
at  full  length  for  about  half-a-mile,  and  then  deposited 
safely  in  the  presence  of  Malietoa,  who  gave  them  a 
very  hearty  welcome,  and  invited  them  to  take  up 
their  residence  with  him.-  They  preferred,  however, 
spending  their  time  with  the  teachers,  who  were  soon 
to  be  left  alone  in  Samoa,  and  therefore  went  to  the 
house  which  Tamalelangi  had  given  them. 

Though  not  in  the  true  order  of  time,  an  amusing 
incident  may  be  here  transcribed  from  Mr.  Williams' 
journal.  During  his  stay  at  Samoa,  six  or  eight 
vampire  bats  were  captured,  and  as  the  missionaries 
were  then  unacquainted  with  their  habits,  the  bats 
were  suspended  by  their  hind  legs  from  a  string  in 
the  vessel's  cabin.  When  the  cabin  light  went  out, 
the  bats  began  to  examine  their  new  abode,  and  one 
of  them,  while  doing  so,  fell  into  the  treacle  barrel. 
By  means  of  his  claws,  he  managed  to  get  out ;  what 
followed  may  be  best  told  in  Mr.  Williams'  own 
words.  "  His  companions,  being  attracted  by  his 
superior  sweetness,  began  to  lick  him.  He,  being 
annoyed  by  the  furious  licking  of  his  friends,  took 
to  his  legs  or  rather  claws,  and  hooked  himself  away 
with  all  possible  speed.  All  the  others  gave  chase, 
and  in  they  went  to  the  bed  of  my  brother  missionary, 
who  was  awoke  by  all  these  animals  crawling  over 
him.  It  was  in  vain  to  try  and  shake  them  off  the 
clothes,  as  with  their  beaks  they  held  on  so  very  fast. 


go  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

To  take  them  off  with  the  hands  was  a  more  fearful 
experiment,  as  they  are  angry  Httle  things,  and  use 
their  teeth  to  advantage.  Hearing  the  bustle  in  my 
neighbour's  cabin,  I  inquired  the  cause.  He  replied, 
'  That  all  these  little  devils  had  come  into  his  cabin 
to  torment  him.'  On  obtaining  a  light,  we  enjoyed  a 
hearty  laugh  at  the  expense  of  our  friend,  for  in 
addition  to  seeing  six  or  eight  black  imps  sprawling 
and  crawling  about  the  bed,  we  saw  the  bed  bedaubed 
with  treacle,  and  all  of  them  chasing  and  licking  the 
unfortunate  sweet  one,  who  was  so  annoyed  and 
angry,  that  he  fought  like  a  fury.  After  this  exhibi- 
tion of  their  tormenting  powers,  we  banished  them 
from  the  cabin." 

From  the  same  journal,  we  extract  a  recipe  for 
what  Mr.  Williams  calls,  "  a  good  substitute  for  a  hot 
cup  of  tea  or  a  bason  of  gruel."  Of  this  Samoan 
delicacy,  he  says  :  "It  is  prepared  from  the  young 
cocoanut.  The  young  nut,  when  about  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  thick  on  the  shell,  is  soft ;  this  being  scraped 
out,  is  squeezed  between  the  hands  till  it  is  broken 
into  very  small  pieces.  The  water  of  the  nut  is  then 
poured  with  it  into  a  wooden  bowl,  and  hot  stones 
put  into  it.  It  is  then  put  into  cocoanut  shell  cups, 
and  served  up.  I  had  it  for  breakfast  every  morning, 
and  got  to  like  it  very  much.  The  chiefs  generally 
have  it  very  early."  Mr.  Williams  also  remarks  : 
"  They  make  soups  also  from  fish,  boiling  them  in 
leaves ;  they  not  having  the  art,  which  the  Fiji 
Indians  possess,  of  making  fire-proof  earthenware." 
Before  continuing  the  narrative,  we  may  also  notice 
a  singular  mode  of  expressing  mourning  which  was 
common  in  Samoa.  Only  women  practised  it,  and 
they  were  spotted  all  over  with  dark  patches  which 
formed  designs.     This  appearance  was  obtained    by 


A    SOWING   WITH    MANY   HARVESTS.  9 1 

twisting  up  a  piece  of  native  cloth  and  setting  fire  to 
it.  The  skin  was  then  touched  by  the  flame,  and,  of 
course,  was  raised  into  a  bHster.  This  bHster,  when 
healed,  was  darker  than  the  rest  of  the  skin,  and  it  is 
said  that  these  dark  patches  were  not  displeasing  to 
the  eye.  From  this,  it  will  readily  be  believed  that 
the  natives  are  not  free  from  vanity  ;  with  them  the 
large  blue  bead  was  in  such  esteem,  for  personal 
adornment,  that  a  large  hog  was  eagerly  given  for  six 
of  them. 

Returning  now  to  the  course  of  our  narrative,  the 
morning  after  Mr.  WillianK  landed,  a  public  meeting 
was  held  to  discuss  his  proposals.  According  to 
custom,  Mr.  Williams  gave  presents  to  both  Malietoa 
and  his  brother.  Tamalelangi,  with  unwonted  gener- 
osity, handed  nearly  all  the  gifts  that  he  had  received 
to  his  brother  the  king.  Malietoa,  though  evidently 
much  gratified  by  his  brother's  kindness,  refused  to 
accept  these  goods  from  Tamalelangi's  hands.  The 
royal  brothers  readily  promised  to  protect  the  teachers, 
and  the  latter  were  themselves  much  delighted  with 
the  reception  they  had  so  far  received  from  the 
natives.  Before  leaving  Samoa,  Mr.  Williams  received 
a  visit  from  Matatau,  the  gigantic  chief  of  Manono. 
Matatau  requested  a  teacher  for  his  island,  and 
declared  that  when  he  had  one,  "  he  would  make  his 
people  place  themselves  under  instruction."  Mr. 
Williams  promised  to  bring  him  a  teacher  upon  his 
next  visit  to  Samoa,  and  advised  him  rather  to  set  a 
good  example  to  his  people,  as  the  employment  of 
any  coercion  was  quite  opposed  to  the  Gospel.  Mr. 
Williams  conveyed  this  chief  to  his  own  island,  and, 
accompanied  by  Malietoa,  who  was  returning  to 
Upolu,  TJie  Messenger  of  Peace  left  Samoa. 

In    reviewing    the    incidents    of    this    memorable 


92  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

voyage,  Mr.  Williams  remarks  very  beautifully, 
"  There  are  two  little  words  in  our  language  which 
I  have  always  admired,  TRY  and  TRUST.  You  know 
not  what  you  can  or  cannot  efifect  until  you  TRY  ;  and 
if  you  make  your  trials  in  the  exercise  of  trnst  in  God, 
mountains  of  imaginary  difficulty  will  vanish  as  you 
approach  them,  and  facilities  will  be  afforded  which 
you  never  anticipated."  Certainly  no  better  example 
of  the  power  of  Try  and  Trust  can  be  found  than  in 
Mr.  Williams'  own  career ;  the  two  words  might 
almost  be  called  the  motto  of  his  life.  By  trying,  he 
accomplished  far  more  than  he  could  have  antici- 
pated, and  by  trusting  in  God  and  in  man,  he  secured 
the  opportunity  for  further  service. 

After  bidding  farewell  to  Samoa,  Mr.  Williams  in 
vain  attempted  to  make  for  Savage  Island,  where  he 
intended  to  land  the  two  natives  whom  he  had 
brought  from  thence.  But  in  consequence  of  contrary 
winds  they  were  unable  to  do  this,  and  TJie  Messenger 
of  Peace  went  on  to  Raratonga.  Upon  landing  there, 
to  their  unspeakable  joy,  they  found  that  the  plague, 
which  had"  raged  so  furiously  at  their  previous  visit, 
had  now  abated.  Two  or  three  happy  days  were 
spent  at  Raratonga,  and  among  other  friends,  Mr. 
Williams  met  Buteve,  the  cripple.  During  the  pre- 
valence of  the  pestilence,  Buteve  had  courageously 
confronted  a  war  party  and  besought  them  to  live  at 
peace,  and  not  to  disturb  "  the  peace  brought  by  the 
Gospel."  Although  the  men  threatened  his  life,  the 
cripple  continued  to  plead  with  them,  saying  that 
though  they  might  spear  him,  they  could  not  spear 
God,  who  could  and  would  conquer  them.  "  This, 
God  has  now  most  effectually  done,"  remarked  Buteve, 
"  and  Raratonga  is  again  Raratonga."  With  the 
greatest  reluctance  the  voyagers  resumed  their  jour- 


A   SOWING   WITH    MANY   HARVESTS.  93 

ney,  and  after  a  quick  run  made  Tahiti.  At  Eimeo, 
the  mission  settlement,  all  the  Christians  assembled 
to  hear  an  account  of  the  recent  voyage.  One  old 
chief  was  so  delighted  when  he  heard  of  what  had 
been  accomplished  in  Samoa,  that  he  was  constrained 
to  urge  the  missionaries  to  persist  in  their  good 
work.  Not  long  after  this  gathering,  this  chief 
passed  away ;  while  dying  he  remarked  to  his  friends, 
"  The  blood  of  Jesus  is  my  foundation.  Jesus  is  the 
best  King  ;  He  gives  a  pillow  without  thorns."  Leav- 
ing Eimeo  with  the  hearty  congratulations  of  their 
friends,  The  Messenger  of  ^Peace  reached  Raiatea  in 
safety. 

Here  Mr.  Williams  was  called  upon,  soon  after  his 
arrival,  to  stand  by  the  death-bed  of  poor  old  blind  Me, 
one  of  the  trophies  of  Divine  grace  in  Raiatea.  Me 
had  been  formerly  a  famous  warrior,  and  in  the  days 
of  his  heathenism  a  terror  to  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Raiatea.  Ever  since  Mr.  Williams'  first  arrival,  how- 
ever, he  had  been  a  diligent  attendant  upon  the  means 
of  grace  ;  it  was  therefore  with  great  sorrow  that  Mr. 
Williams  bade  him  farewell.  "  I  saw  an  immense 
mountain,"  said  Me  to  his  friend,  "  with  precipitous 
sides,  up  which  I  endeavoured  to  climb,  but  when  I 
had  attained  a  considerable  height,  I  lost  my  hold  and 
fell  to  the  bottom.  Exhausted  with  perplexity  and 
fatigue,  I  went  to  a  distance  and  sat  down  to  weep, 
and  while  weeping  I  saw  a  drop  of  blood  fall  upon 
that  mountain,  and  in  a  moment  it  was  dissolved. 
That  mountain  was  my  sins,  and  the  drop  which  fell 
upon  it  was  one  drop  of  the  precious  blood  of  Jesus, 
by  which  the  mountain  of  my  guilt  must  be  melted 
away."  In  this  faith  and  confidence  he  shortly  after- 
wards died.  Mr.  Williams  said,  ''  1  retired  from  the 
overwhelming   and    interesting   scene,   praying   as    I 


94  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

went  that  my  end  miglit  be  like  his."  Alas,  how 
little  we  know  of  what  is  to  come. 

Too  full  of  faith  to  forbode  trouble,  it  now  appeared 
as  if  it  were  God's  will  that  Mr.  Williams  must  return 
to  England.  His  wife  became  so  ill  that  her  life  was 
despaired  of;  but  her  husband  was  anxious  to  com- 
plete his  translation  of  the  New  Testament  into 
Raratongan  before  leaving  the  South  Seas.  He, 
however,  assembled  the  natives,  and  informed  them 
about  the  circumstances  that  were  distressing  him. 
They  grieved  so  much  at  the  idea  of  even  a  temporary 
separation,  that  Mr.  Williams  agreed  to  remain  at 
Raiatea,  if  his  wife's  health  should  improve.  Con- 
trary to  all  expectation,  this  w^as  the  case,  and  Mr. 
Williams  was  mercifully  able  to  stay  through  the 
troublous  times  that  now  came  to  Raiatea.  This 
trouble  arose  from  various  causes,  the  chief  one  being 
a  threatened  war.  It  appears  that  many  years  before, 
a  chief  named  Tapoa  had  conquered  Raiatea  and  the 
adjacent  islands.  Now,  his  grandson  of  the  same 
name,  having  succeeded  to  Tapoa's  dominions, 
claimed  also  the  supremacy  that  his  grandfather  once 
enjoyed,  and  further,  he  threatened  to  support  his 
claim  by  the  force  of  arms.  The  anxieties  caused  by 
this  threatened  subjugation  accelerated  the  death  of 
Tamatoa.  the  aged  king  of  Raiatea.  "Beware,  lest  the 
Gospel  be  driven  from  these  islands,"  was  his  d}ing 
charge  to  his  subjects.  To  Mr.  Williams,  he  said  : 
''  My  dear  friend,  how  long  we  have  laboured  together 
in  this  good  cause !  Nothing  has  ever  separated  us  ; 
now  death  is  doing  what  nothing  else  has  done  ;  but 
who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?  '' 

Every  method  having  been  tried  in  vain  to  induce 
Tapoa  the  Second  to  relinquish  his  designs,  which 
also   contemplated   the   re-establishment    of  idolatry 


A   SOWING    WITH    MANY    HARVESTS.  95 

under  his  protection,  the  Raiateans  were  encouraged 
by  their  teachers  to  resist  the  expected  attack  upon 
their  homes  and  possessions.  Notwithstanding  the 
extreme  peril  to  which  he  exposed  himself  by  so 
doing  (for  one  of  Tapoa's  followers  actually  attempted 
to  kill  him),  Mr.  Williams  did  his  utmost  to  secure 
peace.  He  at  length  induced  the  chiefs  of  Tahiti  to 
interfere,  and  these  mediations  effected  an  agreement 
which  it  was  hoped  would  prevent  a  war.  As  the 
conflict  thus  appeared  to  have  been  averted,  and  as 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  had  arrived  to  take  charge  of 
Mr.  Williams'  stations,  he  determined  to  embrace 
the  opportunity  of  visiting  Raratonga  once  more. 
Accordingly,  on  the  2ist  of  September,  183 1,  The 
Messenger  of  Peace  left  Raiatea,  and  seven  days  later 
reached  Raratonga.  After  a  brief  stay  there,  Mr. 
Williams  took  Mr.  Buzzacott  with  him,  on  a  visit  to 
the  various  islands  of  the  Hervey  group.  Mr. 
Buzzacott  noticed  especially  the  cordial  manner  with 
which  Mr.  Williams  was  everywhere  received.  "  The 
natives  clung  around  him  "  he  said,  "  he  seemed  to  be 
one  with  them."  At  Atiu  he  nearly  lost  his  life. 
W^hilst  attempting  to  row  from  the  shore  to  the  ship, 
the  boat  was  dashed  against  the  reef,  and  Mr. 
W^illiams  was  carried  to  a  great  depth  below  the  sea. 
By  the  assistance  of  two  natives  who  perceived  his 
peril,  Mr.  Williams  was  rescued  for  the  sixth  time 
from  a  watery  grave.  Full  of  devout  gratitude  for 
his  preservation,  he  returned  again  to  Raratonga, 
where  he  busied  himself  in  completing  his  translation 
of  the  Scriptures.  His  work  was  first  interrupted  by 
the  discovery  of  a  plot  to  restore  tattooing  and  some 
other  heathen  practices,  and  a  fortnight  after  this 
nefarious  design  was  suppressed,  a  worse  trouble  came 
upon  Raratonga.     This  was  a  fearful  hurricane,  which 


96  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

swept  across  the  island,  levelling  nearly  a  thousand 
houses,  and  uprooting  many  trees  in  every  district  of 
Raratonga.  The  Messe7tger  of  Peace  was  carried 
on  the  crest  of  a  wave  several  miles  inland,  breaking 
off  branches  of  trees  that  were  twelve  or  thirteen  feet 
from  the  ground,  and  at  length  working  itself  into 
a  hole  about  five  feet  deep.  Had  not  its  further  pro- 
gress been  stopped  by  a  grove  of  large  chestnut  trees, 
the  poor  vessel  would  have  sunk  into  a  bog,  which 
lay  beyond  the  chestnut  trees. 

Mrs.  Williams  herself  had  a  very  narrow  escape  of 
being  killed  during  this  storm,  the  wall  of  the  house 
falling  upon  her  bed  immediately  after  she  had  quitted 
it.  A  few  days  after  this  peril,  she  buried  another 
infant  who  had  died  in  consequence  of  the  storm.  A 
touching  incident  is  related  in  connection  with  this 
bereavement.  Just  before  the  coffin-lid  was  closed, 
little  Samuel,  then  about  four  years  of  age,  sobbed 
out,  "  Father,  mother,  why  do  you  plant  my  little 
brother  ?  Don't  plant  him  !  I  cannot  bear  to  have 
him  planted  ! " 

The  hurricane  which  wrought  so  much  mischief, 
was  variously  regarded  by  the  natives.  Some  of  them 
bitterly  complained  that  it  was  the  worst  of  five 
calamities  that  had  come  upon  them  since  the  intro- 
duction of  Christianity,  and  in  disgust-  they  returned 
to  their  former  ways.  Others  more  wisely  regarded 
the  misfortune  as  a  call  to  repentance,  and  comforted 
themselves  with  the  fact  that  they  had  still  the  Bible 
left  to  them.  By  the  judicious  distribution  of  axes 
and  other  tools  among  the  people,  Mr.  Williams 
encouraged  them  to  repair,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
devastation  caused  by  the  tempest.  But  as  misfortunes 
never  come  alone,  he  discovered  that  a  cask  of  oil 
(which  had  contained  about   i8o  gallons)  required  for 


A  SOWING  WITH   MANY   HARVESTS.  97 

making  c/mnaiu,  a  material  used  instead  of  copper  to 
protect  the  bottom  of  the  vessel  from  worms  and 
render  it  watertight,  had  all  leaked  away.  Some  thief 
had  helped  himself  to  the  oil,  and  neglecting  to  insert 
the  spile,  had  suffered  the  contents  of  the  cask  to  run 
to  waste.  This  loss  could  not  now  be  replaced,  and 
while  perplexed  by  the  anxiety  it  occasioned,  some 
natives  stole  the  best  boat  and  put  to  sea  in  her. 
Thus  distressed  by  many  concurrent  troubles,  it  was 
some  months  before  The  Messenger  of  Peace  could  be 
extricated  from  the  hole  into  which  she  had  sunk,  and 
carried  overland  to  the  ocean.  At  length,  by  dint  of 
hard  toil,  she  was  floated  again,  and  as  soon  as  the 
injuries  which  she  had  sustained  had  been  repaired, 
she  started  for  Tahiti,  in  order  to  obtain  some  pro- 
visions for  the  needy  Raratongans,  whose  food  crops 
had  been  destroyed  by  the  recent  hurricane. 

At  Tahiti,  Mr.  Williams  heard  tidings  from  Raiatea 
which  might  well  have  caused  a  less  earnest  man  to 
despair.  A  cask  of  spirits,  purchased  from  a  trading 
vessel,  had  excited  such  a  craving  for  drink  that  soon 
nearly  twenty  stills  were  at  work  upon  the  island, 
with  the  consequence  that  scarcely  a  hundred  of  the 
population  could  be  found  who  were  not  drunkards. 
Mr.  Williams  was  not  a  man  to  hesitate ;  he  went  at 
once  to  Raiatea,  and  by  his  earnest  remonstrances, 
induced  the  people  to  abolish  the  stills,  and  form 
themselves  into  a  Temperance  Society.  After  this 
success,  he  returned  to  Raratonga,  carrying  with  him 
several  barrels  of  flour,  and  other  articles  of  food 
which  he  had  purchased  from  an  American  captain. 
He  also  took  back  with  him  several  horses,  asses,  and 
some  horned  cattle,  animals  previously  unknown  in 
Raratonga.  These  animals  amazed  the  natives,  and 
they  gave   them    singular   names.     The   horse,  they 

G 


98 


JOHN   WILLIAMS. 


called  "  the  great  pig  that  carries  man,"  the  dog,  they 
called  "the  barking  pig,"  and  the  ass,  "the  noisy,"  or 
"long-eared  pig."  Although  the  civilisation  of  the 
people  was  only  a  secondary  object  with  the  mission- 
aries, such  a  cargo  as  was  now  brought  by  The 
Messenger  of  Peace^  was  of  immense  service  to 
Raratonga.  In  thus  acting,  they  simply  followed 
the  Saviour's  example,  a  large  part  of  whose  ministry 
concerned  itself  with  healing  disease  and  supplying  the 
temporal  wants  of  the  needy  ;  it  is  at  least  question- 
able if  neglect  in  following  His  example  be  not  a 
serious  detriment  to  the  success  of  His  Church 
now-a-days. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


A  WANDERER  WITH   MANY   HOMES.    -    - 

1832-1834. 

"  I,  on  the  other  side, 
Used  no  ambition  to  commend  my  deeds. 
The  deeds  themselves,  though  mute,  spoke  loud  the  doer." 

Milton. 

"  Some  men,  like  a  tiled  house,  are  long  before  they  take  fire  ; 
but,  once  in  flame,  there  is  no  coming  near  to  quench  them." — 
Thomas  Fuller. 

HAVING  now  supplied  the  temporal  necessities 
of  his  friends  in  Raratonga,  Mr.  Williams 
prepared  for  his  second  voyage  to  Samoa. 
Makea,  the  king  of  Raratonga,  resolved  to 
accompany  his  friend  in  this  expedition. 
'  At  sunset,  therefore,  on  the  nth  of  October,  1832, 
T/te  Messenger  of  Peace  set  sail  with  a  fair  wind. 
The  king  was  in  high  spirits,  but  his  friends  wept 
very  much  when  bidding  him  farewell. 

On  the  following  Tuesday,  after  their  leaving  Rara- 
tonga, Teava,  a  convert  from  Mr.  Buzzacott's  church, 
offered  a  remarkable  prayer,  which  Mr.  Williams  has 
given  in  its  entirety  in  his  "  Enterprises."    Afterwards, 

99 


100  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

Teava  inquired  how  it  was  that  David  in  the  Psalms 
spoke  so  much  about  Jehovah,  while  Paul  in  his 
Epistles  chiefly  talked  about  Jesus  Christ,  and  yet 
both  were  inspired  men.  Mr.  Williams  endeavoured 
to  solve  the  difficulty  by  pointing  out  the  difference 
between  the  Old  and  New  Dispensations. 

The  voyage  itself  presents  no  other  incidents  of 
interest,  and  on  the  17th,  at  daybreak,  after  a  run  of 
800  miles,  which  they  accomplished  in  five  days, 
Manua,  the  most  easterly  of  the  Samoan  islands,  was 
descried.  As  Mr.  Williams  had  resolved  to  visit  every 
island  in  the  Samoan  group  during  this  voyage,  he 
stood  in  for  Manua,  and  at  nine  o'clock  was  close  to 
the  shore.  Although  Manua  was  250  miles  from 
Sapapalia,  the  residence  of  the  native  teachers,  several 
visitors  who  boarded  the  vessel  announced  themselves 
as  "  Sons  of  the  Word."  Here  also,  were  to  be  found 
some  natives  of  Raivavae,  who,  many  years  before, 
had  drifted  away  from  home,  and  who,  being  Christ- 
ians, had  erected  a  chapel  in  this  strange  land.  On 
the  opposite  side  of  the  island,  Mr.  Williams  also 
found  Christians.  At  Ososenga,  the  next  island 
visited,  the  chief  came  on  board,  accompanied  by  an 
English  boy  who  had  run  away  from  a  whaling  ship. 
This  chief  begged  hard  for  powder  and  muskets,  and 
when  denied  these,  he  entreated  Mr.  Williams  to  come 
ashore.  But,  being  very  anxious  to  reach  Savaii  before 
Sunday,  Mr.  Williams  declined  the  invitation,  and 
went  on  to  Teituila.  Here  the  natives  were  extremely 
wild,  but  such  expert  paddlers  that  they  easily  kept 
alongside  the  vessel.  In  one  of  these  canoes  was  an 
Englishman,  William  Gray  by  name.  From  him,  Mr. 
Williams  heard  of  a  man,  who,  Gray  said,  was  "  always 
reading  his  Bible,  and  turning  men  to  religion."  Gray 
himself  had  expressed  his  own  religious  opinions  to 


A  WANDERER   WITH    MANY   HOMES.  lOI 

the  natives  thus — " '  It 's  all  one  to  me,'  I  says  to  them, 
'  whether  they  worship  our  God  or  their  own  ;  it 's 
only  another  name.' " 

After  sending  an  encouraging  message  to  the 
Teituilan  Cornelius,  Mr.  Williams  proceeded  along 
the  coast.  In  one  district,  they  found  fifty  people 
who  had  renounced  idolatry,  and  had  erected  a  small 
chapel  for  worship.  Their  chief  begged  hard  for  a 
teacher,  promising  to  become  a  Christian  himself,  if 
only  "  a  worker  of  religion  "  came  to  reside  with  him. 
This  chief  went  himself  regularly  to  the  native 
teachers,  in  order,  "  to  get  some  religion,  which  I  bring 
carefully  home,  and  give  to  the  people.  When  that 
is  gone,  I  take  my  canoe  again  and  fetch  some  more. 
Give  me  a  man  full  of  religion,  that  I  may  not  expose 
my  life  to  danger  by  going  such  a  distance  to  fetch 
it."  Mr.  Williams  promised  that  on  his  next  visit  he 
would  bring  this  "  worker  of  religion  "  a  teacher,  and 
returned  much  encouraged  to  his  vessel.  Here  he 
found  another  chief,  who  had  come  from  a  neigh- 
bouring valley,  awaiting  him.  This  man,  and  his 
people,  had  also  become  nominal  Christians,  and  as  a 
proof  of  his  knowledge,  he  placed  his  hands  together 
in  the  form  of  a  book,  and  after  repeating  a  chapter 
from  the  spelling  book,  he  knelt  down  upon  the  deck 
and  recited  a  prayer  in  mingled  Samoan  and 
Tahitian. 

Leaving  these  interesting  people,  with  a  promise 
that  he  would  visit  them  again,  Mr.  Williams  went  on 
to  Upolu,  where  Tamafainga  had  been  killed.  Here 
he  met  with  two  runaway  English  sailors,  who 
described  to  him,  with  great  glee,  their  success  "  in 
turning  people  religious."  "  I  does  a  great  deal  for 
these  people,  sir,"  said  one ;  "  I  've  been  nine  miles  to- 
day to  see  a   sick  man.     I   reads  a  chapter  and   a 


102  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

prayer  over  them,  and  when  they  gets  well  they 
generally 'turns  religious.'"  Not  understanding  Mr. 
Williams'  silence,  the  sailor  boasted  that,  after  read- 
ing over  one  sick  man,  the  pain  removed  to  another 
part  of  the  body,  whence  it  was  also  driven  by  a 
second  reading,  and  the  man  recovered.  By  these 
incantations  he  claimed  even  to  have  cured  white 
swelling  of  the  knee.  Mr.  Williams  faithfully  warned 
these  men  against  their  evil  practices,  at  the  same 
time  encouraging  them  to  impart  what  little  know- 
ledge they  possessed  to  the  people.  These  sailors, 
Mr.  Williams  found,  had  many  imitators  ;  from  their 
influence  a  sect  had  sprung  up  through  the  islands, 
founded  upon  a  perversion  of  Christianity. 

On  Saturday,  the  20th,  The  Messenger  of  Peace 
reached  the  settlement  of  Malietoa.  The  king-  him- 
self  was  absent  from  home,  engaged  in  his  favourite 
diversion  of  pigeon  catching.  At  first,  Mr.  Williams 
took  up  his  residence  with  the  king's  brother,  but  upon 
remembering  the  extreme  jealousy  of  the  natives,  he 
subsequently  removed  to  the  king's  own  house.  The 
next  day  was  Sunday,  and  in  the  morning  a  congre- 
gation of  700  persons  assembled  in  the  chapel.  The 
singing  was  not  congregational,  for  it  was  found  that 
the  women  sang  the  hymns  at  their  indelicate  dances, 
so  the  teachers  alone  sang  the  hymns.  Mr.  Williams 
describes  the  congregation  as  the  very  wildest  that  he 
had  ever  seen.  Some  of  the  chiefs  had  mats  cast 
over  their  shoulders,  or  fastened  round  their  middle, 
but  their  long,  stiff  hair,  in  some  cases,  stood  erect  like 
the  prickles  of  a  hedgehog  ;  others  had  long  frizzly 
hair  which  gave  their  heads  a  very  large  appearance, 
and  a  third  section  had  their  hair  made  up  into  a  huge 
ball  upon  the  head,  "  forming  a  large,  round,  beautiful 
top-knot."     The  women  were  far  more  savage  in  their 


A   WANDERER   WITH   MANY   HOMES.  IO3 

appearance  than  the  men,  but  so  well  satisfied  were 
they  with  their  costume,  that  they  had  continually 
invited  the  teachers'  wives  to  dress  after  the  Samoan 
mode,  adding  as  an  inducement,  that  then  "  you  will 
have  all  the  handsome  young  men  of  the  town  loving 
you."  "  However,  the  teachers'  wives  are  not  yet 
converted  to  the  fashions  of  the  Samoan  ladies," 
remarks  Mr.  Williams  with  a  touch  of  humour.  After 
the  service,  about  one  o'clock,  the  king  arrived.  He 
greeted  his  visitors  very  cordially,  and  told  them  that 
his  heart  was  "  Monao  tasi  lava  I  te  lotu  a  Jehova,"  that 
is,  "  Single  in  its  desire  to  know  Jehovah." 

After  the  service  in  the  afternoon,  one  of  the  native 
teachers  rose  and  addressed  the  assembly : 

"  Friends,"  said  he,  "  for  a  long  time  past  we  have 
been  subjected  to  ridicule  and  reproach  by  some  of 
you.  You  have  represented  us  as  deceivers,  and  have 
said  much  evil  against  us.  Here  is  our  minister,  Mr. 
Williams,  for  whom  you  said  that  you  would  wait. 
You  can  now  ask  him  any  question  that  you  please, 
upon  the  truth  of  what  we  have  told  you.  Further, 
there  is  an  imposter  who  has  taught  some  of  you  to 
keep  Saturday  as  the  sacred  day.  Some  of  you  have 
rejected  us,  and  adhered  to  the  advice  of  an  ignorant 
and  wicked  man.  Here  is  Mr.  Williams,  who  is  from 
the  foundation  of  truth,  England.  He,  with  his 
brother  missionaries,  is  the  fountain  from  which  all 
true  knowledge  in  these  seas  has  come.  Now  ask 
him  upon  all  the  points  upon  which  you  have  doubted 
our  words.     He  is  our  root." 

No  one  replied  to  this  challenge,  and  after  a  brief 
interval  of  silence,  the  king  himself  arose,  and  said 
that  the  teachers  should  not  regard  what  ignorant 
and  insignificant  individuals  had  said.  "Let  every 
one/'  he   continued,   "from  this   time   put  away  all 


104  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

suspicions  and  evil  feeling.  For  now,  surely,  you  all 
are  convinced  that  what  you  have  heard  is  true.  Let 
the  Savaii  and  let  all  Upolu  embrace  this  great 
religion.  The  Samoan  people  are  very  simple  to  listen 
to  what  a  stinking  pig  had  to  say  to  them  about 
religion,  or  to  notice  a  stinking  pig's  Sabbath.  For 
my  part,  my  whole  soul  shall  be  given  to  the  word  of 
Jehovah,  and  I  will  use  my  utmost  endeavours  that 
the  word  of  Jehovah  might  encircle  the  land." 

After  the  chief  had  concluded  this  speech,  Mr. 
Williams  requested  one  of  the  teachers  to  inform  the 
people  that  on  the  next  day  he  would  meet  the 
people,  and  answer  any  questions  that  they  might 
wish  to  put  to  him. 

In  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  Mr.  Williams 
preached  to  nearly  a  thousand  people,  and  during 
the  absence  of  the  teachers  after  service  (who  were 
conducting  family  worship  in  different  households), 
he  composed  three  hymns  for  Samoan  use ;  one 
of  which  is  appended,  as  a  specimen  of  his  poetical 
powers,  with  a  translation  by  himself: — 

Hy7nn.  Translation. 

Alofa  tete  lena  nei  Great  is  His  compassion, 

Ua  alofa  ia  ai  tatou,  His  mercy  to  us, 

Alofa  tete  o  Jesu  Christ  Great  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ 

loti  mai  i  ei.  To  die  upon  the  earth. 

Etama  pele  o  Jesu  Christ  A  beloved  son  was  Jesus  Christ, 

E  Atalii  belei  A  very  good  son  ; 

Ua  oti  mai  i  lolo  nei  But  He  died  down  here  below 

la  Ota  foi  tatou.  To  obtain  salvation  for  us. 

Faalogens  uma  lava  foi  Let  us  every  one  believe 

Lo  tatou  loto  nei  With  our  whole  hearts, 

la  malolo  le  atamai  That  our  soul  may  obtain  salva- 

la  sau  o  Jesu  Christ.  tion 

When  Jesus  Christ  shall  come. 


A   WANDERER   WITH   MANY   HOMES.  I05 

The  next  morning,  Malietoa  endeavoured  to  bring 
The  Messenger  of  Peace  within  the  lagoon,  in  order  to 
thereby  retain  his  visitors  ;  but,  fortunately,  the  design 
was  detected  before  any  injury  was  done  to  the  vessel. 
Although  he  failed  in  this  attempt,  at  the  public  meet- 
ing, which  was  held  on  the  same  day,  Monday, 
Malietoa  publicly  expressed  his  determination  to 
abandon  war,  and  to  protect  any  white  missionaries 
who  might,  as  he  hoped,  settle  at  Savaii.  "  My  one 
desire  is  to  know,  love^  and  serve  Jehovahl'  he  declared. 
And  when  Mr.  Williams  expressed  himself  satisfied 
as  to  his  sincerity,  the  old  king  clasped  his  hands 
and  said,  "  Oh,  how  fearfully  wise  these  people  are  ! " 

After  this  gathering,  Mr.  Williams  examined  the 
teachers  as  to  their  experience  during  his  absence. 
They  told  him  that  at  first  they  were  troubled  by 
severe  sickness,  which  did  not  abate  for  some  time. 
Afterwards  the  king's  son  and  brother  began  to 
attend  their  meetings.  But  the  war  which  had  been 
undertaken  to  avenge  the  death  of  Tamafainga  was  a 
great  drawback  to  their  efforts.  When  it  had  ter- 
minated, the  king  himself  embraced  Christianity. 
He  proposed  that  for  a  time  his  sons  should  continue 
in  the  old  worship  ;  in  fact,  until  he  had  himself 
proved  that  there  was  no  danger  in  embracing  the 
Gospel.  "  If  I  die,  or  it  goes  ill  with  me,"  he  said, 
"  you  have  still  your  spirits,  which  you  have  not 
abandoned."  The  young  men  did  not  dare  to  openly 
oppose  their  father,  but  they  secretly  ate  their  Etu, 
a  species  of  fish,  in  which  the  spirit  of  their  god  was 
supposed  to  reside.  But,  while  thus  abandoning  their 
idolatry,  the  young  men  took  the  precaution  to  drink 
a  quantity  of  scented  oil,  which  they  supposed  would 
prevent  the  spirits  from  harming  them.  After  awhile, 
they  publicly  announced  their  conversion,  and,  as  a 


I06  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

national  repudiation  of  heathenism,  the  god  of  war, 
which  consisted  of  a  piece  of  rotten  matting,  was  sen- 
tenced to  be  destroyed  ;  at  first  it  was  decided  to 
burn  it,  but  this  was  thought  to  be  too  cruel  an  end, 
so  the  matting  was  drowned.  In  addition  to  this 
public  renunciation  of  his  idolatry,  Malietoa  further 
proved  the  sincerity  and  depth  of  his  new  convictions 
by  refusing  to  engage  in  war,  although  the  people  of 
Manono  gave  him  considerable  provocation,  in  order, 
indeed,  to  invite  a  conflict,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to 
conspire  against  his  life. 

With  the  teachers,  to  whose  instructions  this  change 
was  to  be  attributed,  Mr.  Williams  was  much  pleased, 
and  to  assist  them  in  their  various  evangelistic  jour- 
neys he  helped  them  to  construct  a  boat  of  their  own. 
One  great  hindrance  to  their  work  was  the  great 
natural  indolence  of  the  natives,  which  rendered  it 
almost  impossible  to  teach  them  to  read.  The 
Samoans  could  not  ''  apply  themselves  with  sufficient 
energy  to  master  the  alphabet,  for  before  they  had 
sat  down  five  minutes  they  would  cry  out,  '  Oh,  how 
tired  I  am,  put  it  away  ! '  "  One  native  ingeniously 
excused  his  ignorance  by  saying,  "Writing,  good  for 
Captain,  but  Samoan  more  clever,  and  can  retain 
things  in  his  head,  and  does  not  need  writing  ! "  Mr. 
Williams,  however,  encouraged  the  teachers  to  perse- 
vere in  instructing  the  natives,  and  strongly  recom- 
mended them  to  adopt  a  catechism,  as  a  method 
suitable  to  strengthen  the  memories  of  the  people,  as 
well  as  to  instil  into  their  minds  useful  knowledge. 

That  the  Samoans  were  not  deficient  in  acuteness 
appeared  from  an  incident  recorded  by  Mr.  Williams 
in  his  journal.  One  morning  the  mission  party  were 
engaged  in  scalding  and  salting  hogs  in  order  to 
victual   The  Messenger  of  Peace.     They  had  no  pan 


A   WANDERER   WITH   MANY   HOMES.  IO7 

large  enough  in  which  to  boil  sufficient  water,  and 
knew  not  what  to  do.  The  natives  heated  a  number 
of  stones  red  hot,  and  put  them  into  a  large  trough 
full  of  water,  which  simple  expedient  in  a  few  seconds 
made  the  water  boil.  Like  the  egg  of  Columbus,  no 
one  had  previously  thought  of  this  method,  though  all 
immediately  approved  of  it. 

On  Wednesday  the  24th,  Mr.  Williams  paid  a  visit 
to  Amoa,  a  settlement  about  eight  miles  distant  from 
Malietoa's  capital.  Here  he  found  two  young  chiefs, 
who  had  built  for  themselves  a  chapel,  as  all  their 
subjects  were  at  least  nominal  Christians.  Here,  at 
Amoa,  he  also  met  with  a  remarkable  woman.  Having 
herself  become  a  Christian,  she  became  an  active 
teacher  of  her  sex,  and  by  her  persuasions  nearly  a 
hundred  women  had  embraced  Christianity. 

Mr.  Williams  thus  describes  his  meeting  with  this 
woman  : — 

"  I  was  interrupted  by  the  appearance  of  a  line  of 
females,  following  each  other  in  goose-like  procession. 
There  were  about  seventy  of  them,  and  each  carried 
something  in  her  hand.  They  entered  the  house  in 
which  I  sat,  and  then  placed  before  me  a  baked  pig, 
taro,  cocoanuts,  and  other  articles.  The  chief  woman 
then  addressed  me  as  follows — T  have  just  heard  that 
you  had  come  up  to  this  settlement,  and  I  feared  that 
you  would  not  reach  so  far  as  my  settlement.  So 
I  collected  the  Christian  females  together,  and  have 
come  in  order  to  pay  my  respects  to  you,  as  the  chief 
to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  knowledge  of  Jehovah. 
Our  offering  is  small,  for  none  of  our  husbands  have 
yet  become  "  Sons  of  the  Word." ' 

"I  was  informed  that  this  woman  was  in  the  habit 
of  obtaining  all  the  information  that  she  could,  and 
then  of  returning  to  her  own  place,  and  of  imparting 


I08  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

the  knowledge  to  others  which  she  had  herself 
received.  As  soon  as  her  stock  of  knowledge  was 
expended  she  would  revisit  the  teachers  and  spend  a 
week  or  a  fortnight  with  them." 

This  woman  had  persuaded  from  between  seventy 
to  one  hundred  females  to  become  Christians,  though 
she  had  been  unable  to  induce  the  husbands  of  her 
converts  to  believe  as  their  wives  did. 

"Those  women,"  says  Mr.  Williams,  "had  decorated 
themselves  with  as  much  care  as  ladies  do  in  England 
when  they  meet  with  persons  for  whom  they  entertain 
a  high  respect.  The  dress  of  the  chief  woman  con- 
sisted of  a  red  shaggy  mat,  which  was  tied  round  the 
loins,  and  which  reached  down  almost  halfway  to  the 
knee.  One  corner  of  this  was  tucked  up  so  as  to  ex- 
pose the  left  thigh  almost  as  far  as  the  hip.  Her  body 
was  anointed  with  scented  oil,  which  made  it  shine 
most  brightly  in  the  sun.  She  was  further  tinged  off 
with  an  orange-coloured  rouge,  which  had  been  pre- 
pared from  the^  turmeril.  This  paint  was  most  freely 
applied  under  the  armpits  and  about  her  bosom.  She 
had  a  row  of  large  blue  beads  around  her  neck,  and 
bracelets  of  the  same  coloured  beads  were  round  her 
wrists.  Her  head  was  shaved,  with  the  exception  of  a 
tuft  of  hair  which  was  but  little  larger  than  a  crown 
piece.  But  over  the  left  brow  a  lock  of  hair  about  six 
or  seven  inches  in  length  dangled  not  ungracefully. 
Some  of  her  companions  were  ladies  of  rank,  as  was 
evident  by  the  white  mats  that  they  wore  ;  but  all 
wore  the  blue  beads,  which  they  esteem  as  English 
ladies  do  pearls  and  diamonds." 

But  the  time  had  now  come  for  Mr.  Williams  to 
leave  Samoa  ;  and  as  the  enmity  existing  between 
the  chief  of  Manono  and  Malietoa  might  endanger  the 
mission,  The  Messenger  of  Peace  was  sent  to  Manono 


A  WANDERER  WITH   MANY   HOMES.  IO9 

with  an  invitation  to  the  chief  to  visit  Malietoa.  That 
chief  having  refused  to  come,  Mr.  WilHams  induced 
MaHetoa  to  go  with  him  to  Manono.  Malietoa  took 
several  of  his  wives  with  him,  who  were  so  pleased 
with  the  softness  of  the  pillows  and  sheets,  that  they 
wished  to  appropriate  the  missionary's  cabin  and  bed 
for  themselves. 

On  arriving  at  Manono,  Mr.  Williams  brought  the 
two  chiefs  together,  and  induced  them  to  be  recon- 
ciled. Malietoa  for  his  part,  said  that  his  desire  was 
very  great  for  the  word  of  Jehovah,  and  that  he  would 
never  fight  again.  "  I  have  cast  away  war,  I  have 
trodden  it  under  foot.  I  am  sick  and  surfeited  of 
war,"  he  said.  He  and  Matetau  assured  their  friend 
that  "we  have  determined  to  be  of  one  heart  and 
mind  in  supporting  the  religion  you  have  brought  us, 
and  we  will  both  use  our  influence  in  the  future  to 
prevent  all  war." 

Near  Manono  is  a  small  oblong  island,  inaccessible 
except  by  a  narrow  channel  between  two  rocks.  Mr. 
Williams  compares  the  island  to  a  basin  with  a 
quarter  broken  off.  Should  the  people  of  Manono  be 
worsted  in  battle,  they  retire  to  this  island  ;  across 
the  chasm  they  throw  a  bridge  from  whence  they 
hurl  stones  upon  their  assailants,  while  a  tripping  line 
is  laid  along  the  water,  so  that  any  canoe  entering  the 
passage  is  inevitably  wrecked. 

These  people  are  called  Malo  or  Victorious,  and 
they  keep  a  curious  stone  register  of  their  wars.  A 
stone  of  peculiar  shape  is  put  into  a  large  basket 
after  each  victory.  Just  before  Mr.  Williams  visited 
the  island,  the  basket  contained  197  stones.  As  the 
Malo,  it  was  agreed,  had  never  been  aggressors  in  any 
war,  the  register  shows  the  ferocity  of  the  South  Sea 
Islanders. 


no  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

The  Messenger  of  Peace  was  nearly  wrecked  while 
off  this  island,  for  just  as  she  was  weathering  the  point, 
the  wind  suddenly  failed.  The  strong  current  carried 
the  ship  helplessly  towards  the  fearful  cliffs  towering 
above,  with  the  waves  dashing  against  their  precipi- 
tous sides  in  awful  fury.  But  providentially  a  breeze 
sprung  up,  and  saved  the  vessel  from  drifting  upon 
those  dreadful  walls.  After  escaping  from  this  peril, 
the  missionary  party  encountered  many  other  diffi- 
culties before  they  found  a  harbour  at  Apia.  Here 
they  were  surrounded  by  natives,  "who  were  extremely 
anxious  for  tin  to  make  their  pipes  with,  our  sottish 
countrymen,"  notes  Mr.  Williams,  "having  taught 
them  the  use  of  that  noxious  herb,  tobacco.  Not 
being  able  to  obtain  tin,  they  thought  copper  would 
answer  the  purpose,  and  tried  to  take  some  off  the 
ship's  stern-post ;  but  being  caught  in  the  act,  we 
obliged  the  canoes  to  keep  a  more  respectful 
distance." 

Upon  the  following  day  the  party  landed,  and  were 
struck  with  a  singular  custom  that  the  women  of 
Apia  have  of  plastering  their  [hair  with  lime.  "  The 
lime  burns  their  hair,  and  gives  it  a  brown  tinge,  of 
which  they  appear  very  fond."  The  chief  of  this 
place  professed  himself  a  Christian,  and  about  80  of 
his  people  shared  his  faith.  While  praying  with  them, 
Mr.  Williams  says,  "  never  did  I  feel  more  bitterly  the 
evil  of  Babel's  confusion,  than  when  I  was  obliged  on 
this  interesting  occasion,  to  pray  in  the  Raratongan 
tongue." 

After  leaving  Apia,  The  Messenger  of  Peace  touched 
at  Keppel's  Island,  where  the  missionaries  found  the 
widow  of  Puna,  formerly  a  teacher  at  Rurutu.  "  The 
poor  woman  sent  her  two  children  to  meet  me,  and 
conduct  me  to  the  hut  she  was  living  in,"  says  Mr. 


A  WANDERER  WITH    MANY   HOMES.  Ill 

Williams  in  his  journal.  "  Native-like  she  clung  to 
my  legs,  and  wept  aloud  for  a  long  time."  At 
Keppel's  Island  they  also  heard  of  a  teacher  who 
called  himself  Samuel;  by  this  man's  influence  half 
of  the  500  natives  living  upon  the  island  had  become 
Christians.  With  Puna's  widow  and  children  on 
board,  the  voyage  was  resumed. 

-    After  being  becalmed  for  two  days,  the  party  were 

alarmed  on  Sunday  evening,  the   nth  of  November, 

by  finding  that  half-an-hour's  pumping  did  not  clear 

the  ship.     Seven  minutes  was  generally  sufficient  for 

that   purpose.      A    careful  search   revealed   the   fact 

that  a  hole  had  been  bored  in  a  water  cask,  containing 

130  gallons,  and  that  the  lad  had  forgotten  to  insert 

a  plug.    This,  however,  did  not  account  for  the  quantity 

of  water  they  found  in  the  hold,  and  after  pumping  the 

ship  dry,  they  determined  to  lay  to  until  the  morning. 

About  four  o'clock,  the  mate  aroused   Mr.  Williams, 

to  say  that  there  was  three  feet  of  water  in  the  hold. 

Two  and  a-half  hours'  vigorous  pumping  cleared  the 

ship  of  water ;  but  it  was  found  that  one  pump  must 

be  kept  going,  to  keep  the  ship  dry.     The  efforts  of 

the  crew  to  discover  the  leak  were  unavailing  ;  and 

towards  evening,  the  two  bags  of  biscuits  and  some 

cocoa-nuts  were  placed  in  a  convenient  place,  near  the 

two  boats  and  canoe,  ready  in  case  those  on  board  were 

compelled  hurriedly  to  leave  the  ship.     "  Thus  a  day 

of  consternation,  anxiety,  and  distress  has  passed  over 

me,  such  as  I  never  experienced,"  wrote  Mr.  Williams. 

"  I   have  been   enabled,  however,  to  maintain  entire 

suppression,  and  to  make  all  arrangements  with  the 

utmost  coolness.     It  is  to  all  appearance  a  frowning 

providence,  but  a  smiling  face  may  one  day  be  known 

to  be  hidden  behind  it.     During  the  following  night, 

while  sleeplessly  listening  to  the  pumps,  I  traced  over 


112  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

in  my  mind  almost  every  plank  and  every  seam,  and 
every  bulk  end  in  the  vessel,  from  stem  to  stern-post, 
and  from  keel  to  deck,  and  I  don't  think  anything  can 
possibly  have  given  way." 

To  add  to  their  anxiety,  a  strong  head  wind  now 
sprung  up ;  but  by  working  the  pumps  for  seven 
minutes  every  half-hour,  they  kept  the  water  from 
accumulating.  To  their  no  small  joy,  on  Friday  the 
1 6th,  they  made  Vauvau,  where  some  Wesleyan 
missionaries  were  now  stationed. 

They  had  much  difficulty  in  making  an  anchorage, 
but  at  ten  o'clock  they  came  to  the  beach,  and 
Mr.  Williams  went  on  shore  to  ask  if  the  missionaries 
had  any  letters  for  Tonga.  Makea  accompanied  his 
friend.  "  He  is  always  ready  to  go  on  shore  where 
a  missionary  resides,  but  he  does  not  like  to  trust 
himself  on  shore  where  no  missionary  has  been,"  says 
Mr.  Williams. 

The  visitors  were  somewhat  astonished  when  they 
reached  the  mission  premises  to  find  the  natives  all 
drawn  up  under  arms,  "  some  with  spears,  some  with 
clubs,  and  others  with  the  more  formidable  weapon, 
from  whose  mouth  issues  fire  and  brimstone  and 
smoke."  Mr.  Turner  was  from  home,  busy  upon  the 
house  that  he  was  building  for  the  mission,  but  Mr. 
Williams  went  in  search  of  him.  The  two  mission- 
aries speedily  became  fast  friends,  and  spent  a  pleas- 
ant evening  in  each  other's  society. 

"  I  was  happy  to  find,"  says  Mr.  Williams  in  his 
journal,  "  that  nearly  the  whole  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Vauvau  have  embraced  Christianity. 

"  The  congregation  on  Sabbath  days  consists  of  two 
or  three  thousand  people.  Although  they  have  erected 
a  large  chapel,  Mr.  Turner  says  *  that  it  is  not  nearly 
large  enough  for  the  requirements  of  the  converts.' " 


A   WANDERER   WITH   MANY   HOMES.  II3 

About  two  hundred  of  these  hearers  met  in  class, 
and  eight  hundred  others  were  candidates  for  baptism. 
This  was  the  result  of  only  four  months'  labour. 
Mr.  Williams,  writing  on  the  subject,  says  :  "  I  felt  a 
considerable  interest  in  listening  to  the  details  of  the 
progress  of  the  mission  at  Vauvau,  for  from  the 
determined  opposition  of  the  king,  Finau,  when  we 
saw  him  two  years  ago  (when  he  threatened  to  put 
to  death  any  of  his  people,  man,  woman,  or  child, 
who  should  embrace  the  religion  of  the  Gospel), 
it  could  not  have  been  anticipated  that,  in  so  short  a 
time,  he  himself,  with  every  man,  woman,  and  child 
in  his  island,  should  embrace  the  religion  to  which 
he  appeared  at  that  time  to  have  such  an  utter 
aversion.  But  so  it  is  in  the  ways  of  God  ;  frequently 
a  blessing  is  near  when  it  is  thought  to  be  a  long 
way  off." 

"  I  asked  Mrs.  Turner  if  she  did  not  feel  the  loneli- 
ness of  her  situation  very  much,  and  told  her  that 
I  wondered  how  she  could  possibly  content  herself 
in  this  altogether  out-of-the-world  place.  She  replied, 
*  that  truly  it  was  trying  to  be  so  circumstanced,  but 
that  her  only  desire  was  to  be  where  the  Lord  would 
love  her  to  be.  If  this  were  so,  she  thought  she 
could  be  reconciled  to  any  place,  however  lonely.'" 
Such  a  reply,  so  much  in  the  spirit  of  the  questioner, 
is  the  more  to  be  noticed  when  we  learn  that  some- 
times the  missionaries  were  short  of  supplies.  At 
times  they  were  so  short  of  water  that  they  were 
compelled  to  purchase  it  by  the  cocoanut-shell  full. 
Nor  were  the  natives  at  all  liberal  towards  their  bene- 
factors. They  refused  to  perform  the  least  service 
for  the  missionary  unless  liberally  paid  for  all  that 
they  did.  This  absence  of  the  gentle  courtesies 
which  soothe  and  soften  the  sorrows  of  life  was  keenly 

H 


114  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

felt  by  the  missionaries  to  be  an  aggravation  of  their 
hard  lot. 

The  exiles  were  therefore  the  more  loth  to  part 
with  their  visitors,  and  strongly  urged  them  to 
remain,  at  least  over  the  Sunday.  But  the  desire  to 
return  home,  that  Mr.  Williams  confessed  now  filled 
his  soul,  prevented  his  accepting  this  welcome 
invitation.  From  the  loneliness  of  her  own  situation, 
Mrs.  Turner  was  able  to  sympathise  with  this  feeling, 
and  she  asked  Mr.  Williams  how  long  he  had  been 
absent  from  home. 

"  Nearly  twelve  weeks,"  was  the  reply. 

"  How  can  your  poor  wife  endure  the  loneliness 
thus  among  savage  people  ? "  queried  Mrs.  Turner ; 
"  I  will  not  press  you  to  stay  even  a  day  with  us,  for 
it  would  be  cruel  to  do  so.  I  know  how  I  should 
feel  it  if  Mr.  Turner  were  absent." 

As  the  water  was  very  smooth,  natives  were 
employed  to  dive  beneath  the  vessel,  and  thus  were 
able  to  thoroughly  examine  her  hull.  At  the  same 
time  the  interior  was  carefully  scrutinised  and  the 
cabin  floor  taken  up.  But  all  their  efforts  were  fruit- 
less, the  leak  could  not  be  detected.  At  eleven 
o'clock  the  party  left  Vauvau  and  went  on  to  Tonga, 
or  Tongatabu,  which  means  sacred  Tonga.  Vauvau 
is  not  so  much  one  island,  as  a  collection  of  small 
rocky  crags  that  are  only  habitable  in  the  little  bays 
that  here  and  there  pierce  through  the  tall  crags. 
"  It  is  the  most  dreary  place  imaginable ;  the  tall 
barren  rocks  shut  in  the  people,  the  general  barren- 
ness and  the  deathlike  stillness  that  prevailed — except 
for  the  vicious  sounds  of  the  sea  rushing  beneath  the 
bases  of  the  rocks — make  residence  there  a  terrible 
trial."  A  strong  head  wind  prevented  them  from 
making  as  much  haste  from  this  dreary  spot  as  they 


A   WANDERER   WITH    MANY   HOMES.  II5 

desired,  and  therefore,  instead  of  being  twenty-four 
hours  in  making  Tonga  as  usual,  they  were  six 
days  on  the  voyage,  and  this  with  the  leak  in  the 
vessel  undiscovered  and  unstopped.  Twelve  days 
they  had  been  fighting  with  the  water  in  the  vessel, 
and  therefore  they  were  delighted  to  find  an  English 
ship  at  Tonga. 

This  island,  unlike  Vauvau,  is  flat ;  the  long  line  of 
shore  is  not  relieved  by  any  mountain  scenery.  Here, 
in  the  year  1796,  a  party  of  ten  missionaries  were 
landed.  Three  of  them  were  cruelly  murdered,  and 
the  survivors  only  preserved  their  lives  by  hiding 
until  a  ship  touched  at  the  island.  In  this  they  left 
Tonga,  and  for  some  time  the  island  was  without 
missionaries.  As  in  other  places,  the  opposition 
against  them  was  caused  and  led  by  a  renegade 
Englishman,  who  in  this  case  was  an  escaped  convict. 
This  man  induced  the  king  to  believe  that  the 
missionaries  were  wizards,  and  that  an  epidemic 
which  then  raged  with  great  fury  was  the  result  of 
their  enchantments. 

Upon  the  next  page  is  a  picture  of  a  Tongan 
village.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  houses  are  oval  in 
form,  the  rounded  ends  being  indications  of  their 
primitive  condition. 

Miss  Gordon-Cumming  says  of  these  structures  : 
"  They  have  the  same  deep  thatch  as  the  Fijian  houses, 
which  is  generally  of  reeds  of  the  wild  sugar  cane. 
The  walls  are  of  plaited  cocoa  palm  leaves  or  of 
leaves  interlaced.  The  houses  have  no  stone  founda- 
tion to  raise  them  above  the  damp  earth,  and  in  many 
of  the  poorer  huts  the  floors  are  merely  strewn  with 
dried  grass,  instead  of  having  neat  mats,  such  as  the 
poorest  Fijian  would  possess.  Only  in  the  wealthier 
houses  did  we  see  coarse  mats  made  of  pandorus.     In 


ii6 


JOHN   WILLIAMS. 


the  majority,  however,  there  is  an  inner  room  screened 
off  to  form  a  separate  sleeping  corner;  and  we  noticed 
that  the  Tongan  pillow  closely  resembles  that  of  Fiji, 
being  m.erely  a  bit  of  bamboo  supported  by  two  legs. 
The  cooking  is  generally  done  in  a  separate  hut, 
built  over  an  oven  in  the  ground,  but  a  good  many 
ovens  are  al  fresco,  and  the  daily  yams  or  the  pig  of 
high  festivals  are  baked  quite  in  public." 


A    VILLAGE    IN    TONGA. 


A  boat  came  off  to  The  Messenger  of  Peace,  and 
from  the  young  man  in  charge  of  her  Mr.  Williams 
heard  that  Raiatea  was  again  threatened  with  war. 
As  the  reefs  around  Tonga  were  very  dangerous,  and 
he  was  totally  unacquainted  with  them,  Mr.  Williams 
gave  the  vessel  into  the  pilot's  charge,  and  set  off  in 
an  open  boat  for  the  shore.  They  were  nearly  five 
hours  before   they  landed,  but  the   cordial  welcome 


A  WANDERER   WITH   MANY   HOMES.  II7 

that   they    received   from   their   missionary  brethren 
made  them  soon  forget  their  fatigue. 

Among  other  items  of  news  that  he  learned  during 
the  evening,  Mr.  Williams  heard  some  tidings  of 
dissension  between  Christian  men,  which  caused  him 
to  exclaim,  "  How  numerous  are  the  enemies  that 
Satan  raises  against  the  good  work  of  the  Lord,  both 
at  home  and  abroad,  both  among  its  professed  friends 
as  well  as  from  other  quarters  1 " 

After  a  night's  rest,  Mr.  Williams  put  off  in  the 
boat,  in  order  to  look  for  the  vessel.  She,  however, 
could  not  be  seen,  and  as  it  was  blowing  hard  they 
landed  upon  a  small  island.  Here  they  found  a  water- 
snake,  with  some  thirty  or  forty  young  ones,  that  lay 
curled  and  tv/isted  together.  They  killed  the  mother, 
with  a  few  of  her  young,  and  carried  them  to  the  boat. 
The  large  snake  was  found  to  measure  three  feet  six 
inches  in  length,  and  to  be  about  the  thickness  of  a 
lady's  wrist.  But  when  the  skin  was  placed  on  the 
rocks  in  order  to  dry,  the  natives  of  the  island  assailed 
them,  because  they  had  killed  their  god  when  they 
killed  the  snake.  After  a  while  they  were  a  little 
pacified,  but  they  threatened  the  "  mischievous  man  " 
who  had  been  seen  with  the  snake  skin  in  his  hand 
that  he  should  not  dare  to  land.  After  this  trouble 
had  been  overcome,  Mr.  Williams  began  to  be  much 
disturbed  because  the  ship  was  not  in  sight.  Even  if 
he  were  able  to  return  home,  he  could  not  but  dread 
the  perils  that  he  felt  would  be  caused  if  he  went 
back  to  Raratonga  without  Makea.  But  about  noon 
the  ship  was  discovered  in  sight,  and  they  went  aboard. 
The  vessel  had  suffered  greatly  from  the  gale,  much 
to  the  alarm  of  Makea.  "  Everything  was  turned  up- 
side down,"  says  Mr.  Williams  ;  "  the  spirit  case  was 
upset,  and  all  the  bottles  were  broken.     The  spirits 


Il8  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

had  run  into  my  clothes-bag.  The  oil  was  spilt,  the 
barrels  broken,  and  much  other  damage  required 
repair." 

But  by  the  aid  of  Captain  Henry,  who  had  accom- 
panied Mr.  Williams  from  the  shore,  the  ship  was 
safely  brought  within  the  reef.  Mr.  Williams  was 
much  affected  when  he  saw  the  spot  where  Mr.  Cross, 
one  of  the  missionaries,  had  been  drowned  for  lack  of 
a  proper  boat.  The  next  day  was  Saturday,  and 
they  decided  to  commence  operations  on  Monday 
morning,  in  order  to  discover  the  leak.  The  captain 
of  a  vessel  that  had  just  arrived  proffered  his  assist- 
ance, which  was  gratefully  accepted.  This  captain 
had  himself  run  his  ship  aground  near  Vauvau  some 
twelve  months  previously,  and  therefore  he  was  able 
to  sympathise  with  his  friends  in  their  trouble.  This 
having  been  settled,  the  king  of  Tonga  sent  an  invi- 
tation to  Makea  to  visit  him.  Makea  accepted  the 
invitation,  and  was  received  in  great  state.  He  was 
placed  beside  the  king,  and  a  baked  pig  and  a  basket 
of  yams  were  placed  before  him.  The  pig  was  lifted 
up  into  full  view  of  the  semi-circle  of  chiefs  who  sat 
round.  Then  a  native  orator  returned  thanks  in  the 
name  of  Makea,  who  was  thereupon  requested  to 
make  himself  at  home  in  Tonga.  A  great  root  of 
kava  was  then  presented  to  public  view  and  duly 
acknowledged  by  the  orator.  This  individual  then 
"  desired  the  people  to  prepare  the  kava.  This  they 
did  by  splitting  the  wood  into  small  pieces,  and  each 
one  took  a  mouthful  of  kava  to  chew.  When  they 
had  well  masticated  this  wood  it  was  placed  in  a 
wooden  bowl,  and  water  was  then  poured  upon  it. 
The  refuse  was  then  strained  out  by  a  fibrous  bark  or 
grass,  and  the  liquor  was  ready  for  use.  The  person 
officiating  now  fills  a  cup  and  cries  out,  '  The  cup  is 


A  WANDERER  WITH   MANY   HOMES.  I IQ 

full/  and  then  he  calls  out  the  name  of  the  person  to 
whom  it  is  to  be  taken.  This  favoured  individual 
claps  his  hands  together,  thus  producing  a  hollow- 
sound,  I  suppose  by  way  of  answer  to  his  name." 
The  orator  called  out  his  own  name  first,  and  clapped 
his  own  hands  in  reply,  and  only  at  the  third  cup  did 
he  call  out  the  name  of  the  king.  Then  Makea  was 
favoured,  and  after  him  Mr.  Williams  was  invited  to 
partake  of  the  kava,  which  he  refused.  He  says, 
however,  "  I  determined — being  fond  of  experiments — 
to  try  my  powers  of  mastication  upon  the  root. 
Accordingly,  I  chose  a  little  piece  out  of  the  heart, 
but  before  it  had  been  in  my  mouth  half  a  minute 
I  was  glad  to  put  it  out  again.  It  was  extremely 
bitter,  and  produces  a  great  discharge  of  saliva.  The 
Tonga  people  had  a  hearty  laugh  at  me,  and  said, 
'  The  white  men  were  clever  at  most  things,  but  not 
at  chewing  kava.' " 

The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath,  and  Mr.  Williams 
was  delighted  to  see  nearly  six  hundred  of  the  natives 
assemble  for  Divine  worship.  He  was  also  much 
struck  with  the  singing,  which  was  exceptionally  good 
at  this  station. 

"  It  has  often  excited  my  astonishment,"  says  this 
intensely  practical  man,  "that  so  little  attention  is 
paid  to  this  art  in  our  missionary  seminaries,  and  that 
it  does  not  enter  into  the  minds  of  missionaries,  and 
those  who  have  charge  of  their  education,  that  the 
heathen  will  be  dependent  on  them,  not  only  for  mak- 
ing their  hymns,  but  also  for  teaching  them  to  sing 
the  praises  of  God.  It  is  therefore  needful  to  direct 
the  attention  of  the  missionary  student  to  the  rules  of 
poetical  composition  as  well  as  to  singing." 

On  Monday,  all  the  valuable  articles  were  taken  out 
of  the  ship  and  placed  in  the  mission  house  for  safety. 


t20  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

A  friend,  who  was  more  accustomed  to  these  matters 
than  Mr.  Williams,  undertook  all  arrangements  that 
were  needful,  and  the  missionary  therefore  spent  most 
of  his  time  with  the  brethren  who  were  stationed  at 
Tonga. 

Meanwhile  the  two  English  captains,  whose  ships 
were  in  harbour,  assisted  in  heaving  The  Messejiger  of 
Peace  down,  and  they  then  discovered  that  an  auger 
hole  into  which  the  bolt  had  not  been  driven,  was  the 
cause  of  all  the  distress.  Another  hole  had  been 
pierced  near  it,  but  the  first  hole  had  not  been  plugged 
For  nearly  six  months  dirt  and  stones  had  filled  the 
hole  so  effectually  that  The  Messenger  of  Peace  had 
sailed  several  thousand  miles  without  harm.  The 
carpenter,  with  an  auger,  cleared  out  the  hole,  but 
neglecting  to  plug  it,  the  ship  began  to  fill  again. 
She  was  at  once  dragged  in  shore,  and  foundered  in 
shallow  water.  By  this  new  disaster,  the  tea,  sugar, 
salt,  and  biscuits,  which  had  been  placed  in  the  cabin, 
were  all  "pickled  together."  A  fortnight's  labour 
was  required  to  repair  all  this  damage. 

During  this  period  of  delay,  the  visitors  were  spec- 
tators of  a  native  marriage.  Both  bridegroom  and 
bride  were  young,  not  more  than  twenty  years  of  age, 
and  each  was  dressed  in  the  height  of  Tonga  costume. 
The  dress  of  the  female  consisted  of  a  huge  roll  of 
cloth,  which  was  swathed  round  her  like  a  belt,  form- 
ing an  immense  protuberance  all  round  her  body. 
This  necessitated  the  aid  of  a  person  who  sustained 
her  weight,  for  it  was  quite  impossible  for  the  poor 
creature  to  sit  upright  without  assistance.  The  upper 
part  of  her  body  was  quite  bare,  and  so  profusely 
anointed  with  sweet  oil  that  it  made  the  eyes  of  the 
spectators  water  to  look  upon  her.  The  young  man 
was  also  wrapped  in  a  bandage  of  mats,  one  piled 


A  WANDERER   WITH   MANY   HOMES.  121 

Upon  another,  and  the  upper  part  of  his  body  was  also 
anointed  with  oil. 

From  a  wedding  to  a  cemetery  is  a  contrast,  but  it  is 
often  found  in  life.  After  the  wedding  ceremony,  Mr. 
Williams  took  part  in  a  native  prayer  meeting.  Then 
he  visited  the  sacred  burying  place  of  the  chiefs. 
This  was  an  extensive  enclosure  surrounded  by  a  reed 
fence,  within  which  were  several  small  houses,  each  ot 
which  covered  the  grave  of  a  chief.  The  grave  itself 
was  covered  with  white  sand,  and  was  carefully  kept 
free  from  weeds.  "The  gigantic  trees,  with  their 
varied  and  rich  foliage^  afforded  a  grateful  shade, 
which,  together  with  the  deathlike  stillness  that  pre- 
vails, gives  a  degree  of  solemnity  to  the  place  which 
you  cannot  help  feeling  as  you  saunter  through  the 
sacred  regions  of  the  dead.  The  deathlike  silence  is 
broken  by  the  occasional  screech  of  the  vampire  bats, 
that  hang  in  great  numbers  from  the  tops  of  the 
trees." 

From  the  cemetery,  the  visitor  passed  to  the  abode 
of  the  living  chief  who,  however,  was  not  at  home. 
His  six  wives  were  busily  engaged,  during  his  absence, 
in  painting  a  piece  of  native  cloth  fifteen  or  twenty 
yards  long,  and  about  ten  yards  wide.  The  paint  was 
obtained  from  the  juices  of  certain  herbs,  and  was  ap- 
plied by  hand  to  the  fabric.  The  ladies,  after  answer- 
ing Mr.  Williams'  questions,  requested  him  to  give 
them  some  tobacco,  of  which  they  were  very  fond. 
The  chief  had  meanwhile  returned,  and  he  wanted 
Mr.  Williams  to  partake  of  some  refreshment.  Before 
doing  so,  the  missionary  asked  a  blessing,  whereupon 
the  chief  inquired  of  the  interpreter  who  this  stranger 
was.  The  interpreter,  feeling  himself  great  in  his 
master's  glory,  told  the  chief  that  Mr.  Williams  was  a 
very  great  chief,  and   said   that  he  had   carried   the 


122  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

Gospel  to  many  islands.  Then  he  enumerated  them 
all  in  detail.  The  chief  then  complimented  Mr. 
Williams  upon  his  influence  and  wealth.  "  How  rich 
you  must  be/'  he  said,  "So  different  from  Tonga 
chiefs,  who  are  very  poor ! "  He  then  artlessly 
inquired  as  to  what  articles  were  manufactured  at 
the  various  islands  which  had  been  visited  by  The 
Messe?iger  of  Peace.     "  Oh  !  mats,  cloth,  and  nets." 

"  Dear  me,  those  are  the  very  things  that  I  most 
require.     Have  you  not  a  net  to  spare  for  me  ?  " 

Amused  at  the  man's  method  of  begging,  Mr. 
Williams  replied,  "Yes,  I  have  a  net  to  spare.  I 
will  send  it  to  you." 

"  Oh,  no,  I  will  come  for  it ;  do  not  take  the  trouble 
to  send  it  to  me." 

But  thinking  that  if  the  man  came  for  the  net  he 
might  discover  that  he  was  also  in  need  of  other 
articles  that  were  on  board  the  vessel,  Mr.  Williams 
refused  to  allow  him  to  come,  and  promised  to  send 
him  the  present.  The  gift  of  a  pair  of  scissors  made 
the  chief  completely  happy. 

When  asked  about  Christianity,  this  man  at  first 
parried  the  question,  and  when  pressed  he  said 
that  he  did  not  care  to  be  forced  to  believe  in 
Christ.  When  the  desire  to  do  so  grew  of  its  own 
accord,  he  would  follow  the  example  of  others  and 
embrace  the  Gospel. 

In  his  case,  as  with  others,  the  chief  difficulty 
probably  was  that  he  was  unwilling  to  renounce  the 
immoral  dances  of  the  heathen,  and  to  give  up  his 
plurality  of  wives. 

Mr.  Williams  found  that  the  missionaries  were  fully 
alive  to  the  intense  importance  of  combating  error  by 
means  of  books.  They  had  a  large  printing-press  at 
work  which,  in   little   more  than  twelve   months,  had 


A  WANDERER   WITH    MANY   HOMES.  1 23 

turned  out  twenty-nine  thousand  one  hundred  small 
books,  which  in  all  contained  four  million  seven 
hundred  and  seventy-two  thousand  pages. 

The  only  fault  that  Mr.  Williams  could  find  with 
the  missionaries  was  that  they  had  insisted  upon 
doing  too  much  of  the  manual  labour  with  their 
own  hands  ;  this,  in  such  a  climate,  Mr.  Williams 
considered  to  be  very  unwise.  On  the  5th  of  Decem- 
ber he  and  his  party  left  Tonga,  making  Raratonga 
in  January,  1833.  They  had  been  fifteen  weeks  upon 
their  voyage. 

Mr.  Williams  now  resolved  to  visit  England,  and 
therefore  despatched  The  Messenger  of  Peace  to 
Tahiti.  She  was  to  be  sold  there,  and  a  vessel  char- 
tered in  April  to  bring  up  Mr.  Williams  and  his  family. 
But  no  ship  appeared,  and  Mr.  Williams  thought  seri- 
ously of  building  another.  An  American  had  some 
time  before  commenced  a  vessel,  but  had  not  succeeded 
in  completing  her.  Mr.  Williams  purchased  his  hull, 
finished  the  ship,  and  sailed  in  her  to  Tahiti.  At 
Eimeo,  he  found  a  gentleman  named  Armitage,  who 
had  been  sent  out  by  the  Directors  in  order  to  teach  the 
natives  how  to  weave.  Leaving  his  wife  and  family 
in  Mr.  Barff's  care,  Mr.  Williams  returned  with  Mr. 
Armitage  to  Raratonga.  Then  he  went  on  to  Atiu, 
and  after  he  had  landed  at  this,  to  him,  ill-fated  island, 
the  vessel  was  blown  out  to  sea,  and  did  not  make 
the  island  again  for  three  weeks.  Mr.  Williams  had 
almost  resolved  upon  building  another  vessel  when 
the  lost  ship  came  in  sight.  He  reached  Raiatea  on 
the  14th  of  October,  and,  after  a  brief  stay,  sailed  with 
his  family  for  England.  He  arrived  there  in  June, 
1834,  and  landed  upon  its  shore  after  an  exile  of 
eighteen  years. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


A    CHAMPION    WITH    MANY    TROPHIES. 
1834-1838. 

"The  dearest  offering  He  can  crave, 
His  portion  in  our  souls  to  prove, 
What  is  it  to  the  gift  He  gave, 
The  only  Son  of  His  dear  love.'"' 


Keble. 


"Ever}'  one  should  strive  to  be  like  to  them  in  grace  that 
they  strive  to  be  equal  with  in  glory." — BROOKS. 

DR.   CAMPBELL  assured  Mr.  Williams  that  the 
years  he   spent   in   England  were  "  the    most 
productive  and  important  in  his  life."     Wher- 
ever he  went  he  aroused  immense  enthusiasm ; 
and   although  the   romance  of  missions  has  now  in 
some  sense  departed,  yet  the  effects  of  his  advocacy 
are  perceptible  even  to-day. 

During  his  missionary  tours,  he  visited  Bristol,  and 
there  met  with  Mary  Carpenter,  who  thus  records  her 
opinion  of  him  : — "  He  seems  exactly  cut  out  for  such 
a  life,  having,  as  far  as  we  could  judge,  deep  and 
enlarged  religious  convictions,  great  benevolence,  a 
gift  of  tongues,  handicraft  skill,  and  some  of  brother 
124 


A   CHAMPION    WITH   MANY  TROPHIES.  1 25 

Martin's  homely  wisdom  and  simplicity.  He  break- 
fasted with  us,  and  made  all  the  young  ladies  wish  to 
go  out  to  the  Society  Islands  ;  if  I  had  no  tie  to 
England,  I  should  like  it  very  much  ;  noiv  I  think 
that  we  have  enough  to  do  at  home,  and  am  very 
thankful  that  there  are  some  to  do  the  good  work." 

Lest  Mr.  Williams  may  be  suspected  of  sympathy 
with  some  of  Mary  Carpenter's  opinions,  it  may  be 
well  to  notice  here  that  in  his  unpublished  journal  he 
says,  "  If  there  is  a  people  against  which  true  Christ- 
ians may  exercise  a  holy  indignation,  surely  Socinians 
are  that  people." 

Among  other  towns,  John  Williams  visited  Leeds, 
and  while  there  he  took  part  in  a  missionary  meeting 
held  in  Queen  Street  Chapel.  It  is  related  that  there 
were  then  two  servants  residing  in  Leeds,  one  of  them 
a  Wesleyan  and  the  other  a  careless  indifferent  girl. 
The  Wesleyan  said  to  her  fellow-servant,  *'  Mr. 
Williams  is  coming  to  Leeds." 

"  Williams,  who  is  he  ?  I  never  heard  about  him 
before." 

"  Oh,  he  is  a  famous  missionary.  He  is  coming  to 
preach  and  hold  a  meeting  in  Queen  Street  Chapel. 
Let  us  ask  for  leave  to  attend  the  meeting." 

"  Will  there  be  a  collection  ?  " 

"  Oh,  of  course." 

"  Well  I  will  give  a  penny." 

"  And  I  intend  to  give  sixpence." 

The  two  servants  attended  the  meeting,  and  in  the 
course  of  Mr.  Williams'  speech  the  careless  girl 
whispered  to  her  companion,  "  Isn't  he  a  wonderful 
man  !  Isn't  he  a  wonderful  man  !  I  must  give  half-a- 
crown  to  the  collection."  Not  only  was  she  moved 
to  this  great  liberality,  but  she  was  so  impressed  by 
Mr.  Williams'  appeals  that  she  was  converted,  and 


126  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

became  a  member  of  the  church,  meeting  at  Queen 
Street  Chapel. 

Another  incident  may  also  be  quoted  as  an  instance 
of  unsuspected  harvests.  Mr.  Williams'  son,  the  Rev. 
S.  T.  Williams,  was  for  some  years  co-pastor  with  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Caig  at  Bocking,  Essex.  A  very  chari- 
table lady,  Miss  Ridley,  one  day  asked  the  Rev.  S.  T. 
Williams  to  visit  a  poor  man  who  lived  at  Felstead 
Common.  He  consented  to  do  so,  and  went  to  the 
cottage  upon  the  common.  As  he  was  shown  into 
the  sick  man's  room,  the  cottager's  wife  said,  "  Here 
is  Mr.  Williams  come  to  see  you."  The  sick  man 
started  up,  stretched  out  his  arms,  and  said,  "  Are  you 
come,  sir  ?  Are  you  the  son  of  that  blessed  man  ? 
I  shall  never  forget  him." 

"  How  so  ?  why  do  you  remember  my  father  ?  " 

"  Why,  sir,  a  pnany  years  ago,  I  was  a  little  boy  in 
Bocking  Sunday  School.  One  Sunday  afternoon  your 
father  came  and  gave  an  address  to  the  scholars.  I 
especially  remember  that  he  spoke  to  us  little  children 
in  the  gallery.  He  taught  us  a  prayer,  and  made  us 
repeat  it  twice  after  him  to  make  quite  sure  that  we 
knew  it.  The  prayer  was  this,  '  O  Lord,  convert  my 
soul,  for  Jesus'  sake.'  I  repeated  that  prayer  morning 
and  night  as  he  bade  me.  The  prayer  made  me 
thoughtful,  and  eventually  led  to  my  conversion. 
I  shall  never  forget  him,  that  blessed  man  ! "  The 
great  day  will  probably  disclose  many  similar 
instances  of  saving  good  accomplished  by  John 
Williams'  missionary  speeches. 

One  consequence  of  his  successful  meetings  was  the 
publication  of  his  charming  "  Missionary  Enterprises 
in  the  South  Seas,"  a  book  as  interesting  as  "  Robinson 
Crusoe,"  and  rich  with  the  fervour  of  his  own  beautiful 
spirit.     Dr.  Campbell  said  of  it,  "  One  Williams  does 


A   CHAMPION   WITH    MANY   TROPHIES.  1 2/ 

more  to  confound  infidelity  than  a  thousand  Paleys. 
One  chapter  of  the  '  Missionary  Enterprises  in  the 
South  Seas '  is  of  more  worth  for  the  purposes  of  con- 
viction than  the  whole  mass  of  the  ponderous  volumes 
of  Lardner."  The  book  was  dedicated,  by  permission, 
to  King  William  IV.,  and  met  with  such  general 
approval  that,  within  five  years,  38,000  copies  had 
been  sold. 

In  one  richly  bound  copy,  prepared  for  his  wife, 
Mr.  Williams  wrote  : — 

"  My  Dearest  Mary, — More  than  twenty  eventful 
years  have  rolled  away  since  we  were  united  in  the 
closest  and  dearest  earthly  bonds,  during  which  time 
we  have  circumnavigated  the  globe  ;  we  have  experi- 
enced many  trials  and  privations,  while  we  have  been 
honoured  to  communicate  the  best  of  blessings  to 
multitudes  of  our  fellow  creatures.  I  present  this 
faithful  record  of  our  mutual  labours  and  successes  as 
a  testimony  of  my  unabated  affection,  and  I  sincerely 
pray  that,  if  we  are  spared  twenty  years  longer,  the 
retrospect  may  afford  equal,  if  not  greater,  cause  for 
grateful  satisfaction.  j^^^  WILLIAMS. 

July,  1837." 

He  now  appealed  to  the  Christian  public  to  provide 
him  with  a  ship,  and  in  a  short  time  the  contributions 
sent  in  for  this  purpose  amounted  to  the  sum  of 
;^2400.  On  the  15th  of  March,  1838,  he  appeared 
before  the  Common  Council  of  the  City  of  London, 
and  pleaded  for  their  help  on  behalf  of  the  South 
Seas  Mission.  The  Council  voted  Mr.  Williams  ;^500, 
a  grant  which,  with  other  offerings,  soon  raised  the 
total  amount  collected  by  him  to  ;^4000.  Of 
this  amount  ;^26oo  was  devoted  to  the  purchase 
and  equipment  of  a  vessel  called  the  Camden;   the 


128  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

balance  was  devoted  to  the  establishment  of  a 
Polynesian  College  and  other  missionary  purposes. 
The  repairs  of  the  Camden  cost  ^400,  but  this  amount 
the  ship-builder  presented  as  his  contribution  to  the 
mission.  A  man  whose  business  it  was  to  supply 
vessels  with  fresh  filtered  water,  sent  twenty  tons  on 
board  the  Camden  as  a  gift ;  and  the  pilot,  whose  fee 
generally  amounted  to  ;^20  or  £2^^  took  the  mission- 
ary ship  down  the  river,  and  refused  to  accept  pay- 
ment for  his  services. 

On  Wednesday,  the  4th  of  April,  1838,  a  public 
meeting  was  held  in  The  Tabernacle,  near  City  Road, 
London,  to  bid  Mr.  Williams  farewell.  He  was 
returning  in  the  Camden  to  the  South  Seas.  The 
meeting  was  announced  to  commence  at  six  o'clock, 
but,  three  hours  before  the  appointed  time,  the  people 
began  to  assemble.  Hundreds  were  unable  to  obtain 
admission.  Dr.  Campbell,  in  the  name  of  the  church 
worshipping  in  the  Tabernacle,  presented  Mrs.  Williams 
with  the  six  volumes  of  Scott's  Commentary  upon  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  bound  in  Russia  gilt,  and  a  hymn- 
book.  To  Mr.  Williams  he  presented,  on  behalf  of 
the  same  friends,  a  copy  of  an  Encyclopaedia  in  twenty 
volumes. 

The  chief  interest  of  the  meeting  centred,  however, 
in  Mr.  Williams'  own  speech,  which,  as  unconsciously 
descriptive  of  himself  and  his  aims,  is  wonderfully 
significant  in  the  light  of  his  tragical  death.  The  speech, 
though  well  worthy  of  being  quoted  in  its  entirety, 
is  too  long  for  insertion  here.  A  few  extracts  may, 
however,  serve  to  show  its  general  character.  Mr. 
Williams  said  : — "  I  feel,  still,  that  the  work  of  Chris- 
tian Missions  is  the  greatest,  noblest,  and  the  sublimest 
to  which  the  energies  of  the  human  mind  can  be 
devoted.     I  think,  Christian  friends,  that  no   labour 


A   CHAMPION   WITH   MANY   TROPHIES.  13! 

we  can  bestow,  no  sacrifice  that  we  can  make,  no 
journeys  that  we  can  undertake,  are  too  great  to  be 
undertaken  for  the  glorious  purpose  of  illuminating 
the  dark  world  with  the  light  of  the  glorious  Gospel 
of  the  blessed  God.  There  is  something,  to  my  mind, 
transcendently  sublime  in  the  comprehensive  character 
of  Christian  missions.  I  think,  that  Scripture  state- 
ments are  confirmed  in  a  most  striking  manner,  that 
Scripture  predictions  are  most  beautifully  illustrated, 
and  that  Scripture  promises  have  been  most  remark- 
ably fulfilled,  by  facts  in  connection  with  the  mission 
of  which  I  am  now  speaking." 

After  alluding  to  the  cost  of  the  vessel,  he  con- 
tinued : — "  If  we  were  to  go  into  the  matter  of  mere 
expense,  we  could  show  that  this  would  be  the  most 
economical  method  which  could  be  adopted.  How- 
ever, when  we  contemplate  engaging  in  any  under- 
taking for  the  cause  of  our  God,  a  trifling  matter  of 
expense  ought  never  to  stand  in  tJie  way!' 

In  reference  to  the  subject  of  his  preaching,  he 
said: — "We  feel  that  we  have  so7nething  worth 
carrying:  we  have  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ;  we 
have  the  great  truth  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners  ;  we  have  the  great  doctrine  of 
the  Atonement  to  carry  !  .  .  .  We  believe  it,  and 
therefore  we  go  round  the  world  to  tell  it ;  and  the 
great  story  which  we  have  to  tell  is, '  God  so  loved  the 
world  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.'  My  dear  friends, 
the  very  first  sermon  I  preached  in  the  native  tongue 
was  from  this  text :  '  This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and 
worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into 
the  world  to  save  sinners.'  It  does  appear  to  me, 
when  I  meditate  upon  the  wondrous  scheme  of 
human  redemption,  that  the   great   doctrine   of  the 


132  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

Atonement  is  the  most  powerful  and  wonderful  of  all 
the  doctrines  in  all  the  creeds  of  the  human  race.  .  .  . 
In  comparison  with  the  great  truth  of  salvation  by 
the  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  universe  itself  appears 
a  bauble.  /  love  the  doctrine,  and  I  determine  never 
to  preach  a  sermon  in  any  language  where  the  great 
doctrine  of  salvation  through  the  blood  of  Christ  is 
not  the  sum  and  substance  of  the  sermon.  We  think 
that  this  is  a  truth  worth  carrying  round  the  world ; 
it  is  the  soul  of  religious  effort." 

In  conclusion,  Mr.  Williams  said: — "Whatever 
infirmities  may  attend  me,  I  do  feel  this,  that  my 
integrity  will  I  hold  fast.  I  have  but  one  object  in 
jview,  and  that  is,  to  carry  the  knowledge  of  Jesus 
Christ  to  those  who  are  perishing  for  lack  of  that 
knowledge.  This  is  my  sole,  my  simple  object. 
I  can  with  confidence  unite  with  you  in  supplicating 
that  God's  blessing  may  rest  upon  us.  I  cannot  do 
better  than  conclude  with  the  prayer  of  one  of  the 
natives,  on  the  day  that  we  embarked  from  his  island  : 
*  O  Lord,  tell  the  winds  about  them,  that  they  may 
not  blow  fiercely  upon  them  ;  command  the  ocean 
concerning  them,  that  it  may  not  swallow  them  up ; 
conduct  them  safely  to  a  far-distant  country,  and  give 
them  a  happy  meeting  with  long-lost  relatives,  and 
bring  them  back  again  to  us.  But  if  we  should  never 
meet  again  around  the  throne  of  grace  below,  may 
we  all  meet  around  the  throne  of  God  above.  Amen 
and  amen.' " 

In  his  parting  published  address  to  the  British 
Churches,  Mr.  Williams  said  : — "  Great,  of  course,  are 
the  perils  that  await  me.  I  may  not  again  come  back 
to  repose  at  the  first  sight  of  the  lofty  cliffs  and  lovely 
plains  of  Old  England  ;  well,  the  will  of  the  Lord  be 
done !     I  shall  be  entombed  in  the  ocean,  or  sleep  in 


A  CHAMPION   WITH   MANY  TROPHIES.  1 33 

a  foreign  land,  in  the  Isles  of  the  South,  in  the  field 
of  my  labours,  and  among  the  graves  of  my  child- 
ren !  .  .  .  Time  alone  can  reveal  the  will  of  Heaven. 
I  would  wait  that  revelation  in  the  spirit  of  holy 
submission,  love,  and  obedience." 

On  Wednesday,  the  nth  of  April,  he  embarked  on 
board   the    CamdeUy   which    lay   off    Gravesend.     A 
steamer  had    been    chartered   to  convey  the  mission 
party  from  London  Bridge  to  the  Camden,  and  about 
370  persons  went  in  her.     When  off  Erith,  the  com- 
pany filed  past  Mr.  Williams,  who  sat  in  the  stern  of 
the  vessel,  to   say  farewell.     An  eye-witness  says  : — 
"At    this    moment    Mr.    Williams    was    a    striking 
spectacle  of  real  moral  greatness.     On  his  right  hand 
sat  a  beloved  weeping  sister ;  and  on  his  left,  a  still 
more  beloved  weeping  wife,  whose  case  constrained 
especial  sympathy  from    such  as    knew  it.     With    a 
constitution     apparently    broken,    health     but    very 
imperfectly  established,  spirits  naturally  far  from  high, 
she  was   leaving  behind   her  a  darling  child,  and  a 
venerated  mother,  whom  it  is  not  probable  she  will 
ever    see    again.     Thus    circumstanced,   the   veteran 
missionary  appeared  to  great  advantage.     There  he 
sat,  with  a  countenance  as  placid    and  a  heart  as 
tranquil    as    those   of    the   lovely   little   one   on   his 
knee !  .  .  .  Throughout  the  morning  he  appeared  to 
be  in  a  very  solemn  frame,  but  deeply  thoughtful ;  he 
did  not  mix  extensively  with  the  multitude,  nor  indulge 
in    any   protracted    conversation.     One    would    have 
said,  '  That  man  sighs  for  solitude.'     He  sat  till  the 
whole  company  had  passed,  with  a  word,  a  wish,  or  a 
request  suited  for  everybody."  * 

Mr.  Williams  left  his  son  Samuel  in  England  ;  and 
upon  the  morning  of  his  embarkation,  he  wrote  the 
*  Missionary's  Farewell. 


134  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

following  letter  in  his  son's  album.  The  book  was 
passed  from  hand  to  hand  among  the  company  on 
the  steamer,  and  the  letter  was  copied  by  many  on 
board.  As  an  exhibition  of  his  affectionate  solicitude, 
it  deserves  insertion  in  these  pages. 

An  affectionate  Father's  Parting  Wish. 

"  My  dear  and  much  loved  Samuel, — You  wish  me 
to  write  a  few  lines  in  your  album,  and  I  comply  with 
your  dear  wish  on  the  morning  of  our  embarkation 
for  the  far-distant  isles  of  the  Pacific,  whither  I  and 
your  dear  mother  are  again  going  to  spread  the  know- 
ledge of  a  precious  Saviour,  whom  we  wish  you  to 
love  more  fervently  and  serve  more  faithfully 
than  we  have  done.  We  both  unite  in  assuring  you, 
my  dear,  dear  boy,  that  Jesus  is  the  most  affectionate 
friend,  and  the  best  of  all  masters.  The  caresses  of  a 
dear  doting  mother,  the  counsel  and  instruction  of  a 
tender-hearted  father,  will  avail  you  nothing  without 
the  friendship  of  Jesus  Christ !  We  love  Him  our- 
selves, and  the  united  wish  of  your  dear  mother  and 
myself  is,  that  you  may  love  him  too. 

"We  feel  very  keenly  the  pang  of  separation. 
We  love  our  country,  we  love  our  affectionate  rela- 
tives, we  love,  with  an  intensity  of  feeling  which 
parents  only  know,  our  dear,  very  dear  Samuel. 
Why,  then,  do  we  go?  We  go,  because  Jesus  Christ 
has  said,  '  He  that  loveth  father  or  mother,  sister  or 
brother,  wife  or  children  or  lands  more  than  Me,  is 
not  worthy  of  Me.'  We  shall  pray  for  you,  my  dear 
boy,  every  day  of  our  lives,  and  trust,  in  answer  to 
these  prayers,  that  God  by  His  grace,  will  take 
possession  of  your  young  and  tender  heart,  so  that 
when  we  return  to  England,  which  wc  hope  to  do  in 


A   CHAMPION   WITH    MANY   TROPHIES.  1 35 

a  few  years,  we  shall  find  our  beloved  boy  not  only 
an  intelligent  and  amiable,  but  also  ^  pious  and 
devoted  youth,  enjoying  the  good  opinion  and  affec- 
tion of  all  who  know  you,  and  living  in  the  fear  of 
God.  This,  my  very  dear  boy,  will  enhance  the 
pleasure  of  meeting  beyond  the  power  of  descrip- 
tion. 

"  But  my  dear,  dear  son  must  pray  for  himself,  and 
he  has  God's  own  declaration  for  his  encouragement : 
'When  my  father  and  my  mother  forsake  me, 
then  the  Lord  will  take  me  up.'  We  have  forsaken 
you,  my  dear  boy,  under  very  peculiar  circumstances. 
It  is  for  the  cause  of  God  that  we  have  made  this 
sacrifice.  Plead  this  with  God  when  you  pray,  and 
beseech  God  to  be  a  father  to  you. 

'  The  Lord  bless  thee,  my  dear  boy,  and  keep  thee  ; 
The  Lord  make  His  face  to  shine  upon  thee  ; 
The  Lord  be  gracious  unto  thee  ; 
The  Lord  lift  up  His  countenance  upon  thee, 
and  give  thee  peace.' 

''  These  are  the  wishes  and  fervent  prayers  of  your 
affectionate  father 

John  Williams. 

wth  April,  1838." 

Mr.  Williams'  son  felt  so  keenly  the  separation, 
that  for  some  time  he  could  not  be  comforted.  But 
at  length  he  regained  his  composure,  and  helped  to 
cheer  his  father.  When  from  the  deck  of  the  Camden 
Mr.  Williams  called  out,  "Where  is  Sam?"  some 
friend  held  him  up,  and  Sam  clapped  his  hands. 

After  a  brief  farewell  service  on  board  the  steamer, 
the  missionaries  went  on  board  the  Camden.  The 
steamer  accompanied  her  for  some  nine  or  ten  miles 


136 


JOHN    WILLIAMS. 


down  the  river ;  before  they  parted,  Mr.  Williams 
called  out  to  them,  referring  to  the  Camden,  "  Is  not 
she  a  beauty  ? "  At  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
the  vessels  parted  company,  and  the  Camden  pro- 
ceeded down  the  river,  followed  by  the  ringing  cheers 
of  friends. 


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^ 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


A   STEPHEN  WITH    MANY  A   PAUL. 


1838-1889. 

"  One  presses  on,  and  welcomes  death, 
One  calmly  yields  his  willing  breath, 
Nor  slow  nor  hurrying,  but  in  faith, 
Content  to  die  or  live. 
'  Jesus  do  Thou  my  soul  receive  ; 
Jesus  do  Thou  my  foes  forgive  : ' 
He  who  would  learn  this  prayer  must  live 
Under  the  holy  Cross." 

Keble. 

"  The  blood  of  the  Martyr  of  Erromanga  is  giving  its 
loud  sound  into  all  regions  of  the  earth,  and  preaching  sermons 
which  by  their  holy  strength  make  the  Lord  Jesus  divide 
the  spoil  with  the  strong.  That  ever  was  the  earnest  expecta- 
tion and  hope  of  this  servant  of  God  ;  it  is  gloriously  done." 
— From  ail  tmptcblished  letter  written  by  Pastor  Besser  of 
Prussia^  to  Mrs.  Williams, 

ON    the    19th    of  April,    1838,  at   six    P.M.,    Mr. 
Williams  looked  for  the   last  time  upon  the 
white  cliffs  of  England.     After  the  anguish  of 
parting    and   the  pangs  of   sea-sickness   had 
abated,  the  mission  party  settled  down  to  prepare  for 
their  future  work.     Beside   Mr.  and    Mrs.  Williams 

137 


138  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

and  their  eldest  son  and  his  wife,  the  Camden  carried 
sixteen  new  missionaries,  all  destined  for  the  South 
Sea  Islands.  These  twenty,  with  Captain  Morgan, 
commander  of  the  Camden,  and  some  of  the  crew, 
formed  themselves  into  a  Christian  church,  which 
numbered  twenty-six  persons,  and  celebrated  the 
sacred  ordinances  of  their  faith.  From  ten  o'clock 
until  two  every  morning,  the  younger  missionaries 
assembled  for  instruction  in  the  Tahitian  and  Rara- 
tongan  languages. 

The  voyage  passed  without  incident,  and  in  Septem- 
ber the  Camdefi  entered  Sydney  harbour.  Thence 
they  proceeded  to  Samoa,  where  Mr.  Williams 
selected  Fasetootai,  in  the  island  Upolu,  as  his  future 
station.  He  had  originally  intended  making  his  home 
at  Raratonga,  but  Mrs.  Williams  preferred  Samoa, 
and  her  husband  deemed  it  wise  to  select  Upolu,  the 
district  which  had  been  conquered  and  devastated  in 
the  war  which  followed  the  murder  of  Tamafainga. 
They  had  scarcely  entered  into  their  new  home,  when  a 
circumstance  occurred  which  cast  a  gloom  over  all  the 
mission  band.  This  was  the  death  of  the  Rev.  J. 
Bamden,  one  of  the  new  missionaries,  who  was 
drowned  while  bathing.  "  I  perhaps  shall  be  the 
next,"  said  Mr.  Williams  with  almost  prophetic  fore- 
sight, for  so  the  event  proved  to  be. 

On  the  17th  of  January,  1839,  Mr.  Williams  left 
Samoa  for  a  visit  to  Raratonga,  and  on  the  4th  of 
February  he  reached  that  island.  His  meeting  with 
Makea  the  king  was  very  cordial  and  affectionate 
upon  both  sides.  "  Oh,  Makea,"  Mr.  Williams  said, 
"  how  kind  are  God's  dealings  to  us  in  sparing  us  thus 
far,  and  permitting  us  to  meet  again." 

Within  a  few  months  the  friends  met  where  there  is 
no  parting ;  for  the  former  things  had  passed  away. 


A   STEPHEN   WITH    MANY   A   PAUL.  1 39 

On  the  19th  of  the  following  October,  Makea  joined 
the  great  majority,  whither  we  shall  see  Mr.  Williams 
quickly  followed  him. 

With  the  increased  earnestness  and  mellowing  of 
character,  that  we  now  understand  to  have  been  a 
preparation  for  the  great  change,  but  which  we 
strangely  seldom  understand  until  our  friends  have 
left  us,  Mr.  Williams  strove  to  use  to  the  utmost 
the  life  which  was  so  rapidly  approaching  the  end  of 
its  earthly  service.  He  landed  5000  Testaments  in 
the  Raratongan  language  ;  and  no  less  important  than 
giving  the  people  the  "  god  of  books,"  he  commenced 
arranging  for  the  college  which  was  to  train  up  men 
to  expound  it.  Of  this  institution,  Mr.  Buzzacott 
became  the  Principal.  Mr.  Williams  thankfully 
noticed  the  immense  improvement  effected  among  the 
people ;  socially  and  religiously  they  were  not  like 
the  same  race  that  had  treated  the  first  teachers  in 
such  an  indescribably  abominable  manner.  The 
change  had  not  been  remarkably  rapid,  but  it  was 
lasting,  and  was  the  kind  of  success  that  necessitates 
and  sustains  another  advance.  In  all  Christian  work 
much  good  service  becomes  latent ;  but  like  the  heat 
that  melts  the  ice,  it  also  assists  in  causing  the  water 
to  boil. 

From  Raratonga  Mr.  Williams  went  to  other 
islands  ;  at  one  of  them,  Atiu,  he  was  for  the  seventh 
time  rescued  from  drowning,  this  being  also  the 
second  accident  at  the  same  spot. 

On  the  2nd  of  May,  he  reached  his  home  once 
more,  and  here  he  remained,  with  the  exception  of  two 
short  trips  which  he  made  in  Samoa,  until  his  last  and 
fatal  voyage. 

On  the  evening  before  his  departure  from  Samoa, 
for  what  proved  to  him  his  last  sacrifice  for  the  salva- 


140 


JOHN   WILLIAMS. 


tion  of  the  South  Sea  Islanders,  Mr.  Williams  visited 
Mr.  Mills,  a  brother  missionary.  The  two  friends  sat 
for  some  time  in  solemn  conversation,  and  Mr. 
Williams  discussed  his  plans  and  his  hopes  with 
regard  to  what  he  felt  to  be  a  dangerous  undertaking. 
He  was  interrupted  by  the  entrance  of  a  blind  chief, 
named  Sepaetaia,  who  had  become  a  convert  to 
Christianity.  This  man,  who  had  only  recently  been 
an  idolater  himself,  expressed  a  strong  desire  to  assist 
his   beloved    minister   in    his   attempt    to   reach   the 


MR.    WILLIAMS   AND   THE    BLIND   CHIEF. 


heathen  of  the  New  Hebrides.  "  Teacher  Williams," 
he  said,  "  I  am  a  blind  man,  but  I  have  a  great  desire 
to  go  with  you  to  the  dark  lands.  Perhaps  my  being 
blind  will  make  them  pity  me,  and  not  kill  me.  And 
whilst  I  can  talk  to  them  and  tell  them  of  Jesus,  my 
boy  "  (and  he  placed  his  hand  upon  the  head  of  his 
son,  an  interesting  youth)  "can  read  and  write,  and  so 
we  can  teach  them  things." 

"  I  never  saw  Mr.  Williams  more  deeply  affected," 


141 


A   STEPHEN   WITH   MANY  A   PAUL.  1 43 

said  Mr.  Mills,  "  than  he  was  at  the  earnestness  with 
which  poor  blind  Sepaetaia  entreated  permission  to 
follow  him." 

The  blind  man  was  not,  of  course,  allowed  to 
accompany  Mr.  Williams  in  his  voyage,  but  without 
doubt  his  willing  mind  was  accepted  by  God  as  if  it 
had  actually  led  him  to  Erromanga.  And  it  is  also 
remarkable  that,  just  at  the  time  that  Mr.  Williams 
was  sad  on  account  of  what  he  instinctively  felt 
would  be  the  termination  of  his  voyage,  such  an 
encouragement  should  have  been  given  to  him.  It 
must  have  furnished  him  with  food  for  devout  thought, 
and  have  nerved  him  for  the  task  that  he  dreaded. 

No  personal  considerations,  however,  hindered  this 
modern  Paul  ;  he  resolutely  prepared  for  what  he 
knew  would  be  his  martyrdom. 

On  the  3rd  of  November,  1839,  he  preached  for  the 
last  time,  and,  strangely  enough,  from  Acts  xx.  36-38 
— "  And  they  all  wept  sore,  and  fell  upon  Paul's  neck, 
and  kissed  him,  sorrowing  most  of  all  for  the  words 
which  he  spake,  that  they  should  see  his  face  no 
more."  Both  preacher  and  congregation  were  deeply 
depressed  ;  every  one  present  seemed  instinctively  to 
anticipate  the  coming  final  severance. 

At  midnight  of  the  same  evening,  Mr.  Williams 
took  his  leave  of  his  wife  and  children,  and  went  on 
board  the  Camden.  Mrs.  Williams,  in  parting  with 
her  husband,  earnestly  entreated  him  not  to  land  at 
Erromanga.  Was  it  from  any  monition  conveyed 
to  her  spirit,  or  simply  the  foresight  of  affection- 
ate anxiety  ?  None  can  say.  Before  morning  the 
Camden  had  left  Samoa  for  the  voyage  which  was  to 
terminate  in  Mr.  Williams'  martyrdom. 

After  a   run   of  six    hundred    miles,   the    Camden 
made  Rovuma  upon  the  12th  of  November. 


144  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

"  We  soon  discovered  from  the  indentures  on  the 
coast,"  says  Mr.  Cunningham,  "  that  the  island  is 
formed  in  the  best  manner  to  give  shelter  for  vessels 
requiring  a  harbour. 

*'  After  we  had  landed,  the  people  came  about  us, 
and  presented  a  most  disgusting  appearance.  They 
v^ere  all  besmeared  with  a  powder  which  is  prepared 
from  the  turmeric  root.  We  noticed,  however,  that 
some  of  them  had  wrappers  of  European  cloth  tied 
round  their  bodies.  The  men  wore  long  hair,  and  the 
unmarried  girls  retained  locks  of  hair  on  each  side 
and  upon  the  back  of  their  heads.  The  centre,  from 
the  forehead  to  the  crown,  is  kept  close  cut,  and  is 
ornamented  with  lime  and  turmeric." 

The  next  day  they  went  on  to  the  New  Hebrides. 
Mr.  Williams,  in  a  letter  which  was  written  upon  the 
1 6th,  says  : — "  Thus,  my  friend,  we  live  in  a  dying 
world.  .  .  .  The  grand  concern  should  be  to  live  in  a 
constant  state  of  preparation.  This  I  find  a  difficult 
matter,  from  the  demand  incessantly  made  upon  my 
energies,  both  of  body  and  of  mind,  but  I  find  great 
comfort  from  the  consideration  that  many  of  God's 
people  pray  for  me,  and  also  that  ALL  is  spent  in  the 
best  of  all  causes.  .  .  ,  Oh,  how  much  depends  upon 
the  efforts  of  to-morrow  !  Will  the  savages  receive  us 
or  not  ?  Perhaps  at  this  moment  you  or  some  other 
kind  friend  may  be  wrestling  with  God  for  us.  I  am 
all  anxiety,  but  desire  prudence  and  faithfulness  in  the 
management  of  the  attempt  to  impart  the  Gospel  to 
these  benighted  people,  and  leave  the  event  with 
God.  .  .  ,  The  approaching  WEEK  IS  TO  ME  THE 
MOST   IMPORTANT   OF   MY   LIFE." 

His  mind  derived  its  strength  from  the  Sacred 
Scriptures,  and  then  probably  he  consulted  the  frag- 
ment of  paper  upon  which  he  had  written  various 


A   STEPHEN   WITH    MANY  A   PAUL.  14^ 

texts,  evidently  for  his  private  meditation.  This 
paper,  tattered  and  torn,  lies  before  us.  Among  the 
texts  upon  it  are  the  following  : — 

Divine  Teaching. 

"  The  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  see  out  of  obscurity." 
Isaiah  xxix.  18. 

"  The    Holy    Ghost   shall    teach   you    all    things." 
John  xiv.  26. 

Pardon. 

"  I  am    He   that   blotteth   out   thy  sins."      Isaiah 
xliii.  25. 

"  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin." 
I  John  i.  7. 

Temptation. 

"  God  will  not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted  above  that 
ye  are  able."     i  Cor.  x.  13. 

"  Sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you."  Rom. 
vi.  14. 

"  I  have  prayed  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not." 
Luke  xxii.  32. 

On  the  next  day,  Sunday,  November  the  17th,  they 
sighted  the  island  of  Fatuna.  The  natives  were 
discerned  collecting  in  groups,  and  making  signs  for 
the  Camden  to  come  near.  The  boat  was  lowered,  but 
after  rowing  for  some  time,  the  party  were  unable  to 
land.  A  chief,  distinguished  from  his  countrymen  by 
bracelets,  and  rings  of  tortoise-shell  inserted  into  his 
ears,  came  on  board.  After  a  while  they  found  a  bay 
on  the  other  side  of  the  island,  into  which  they  could 
take  the  Camden,  and  there  they  landed.  The 
natives  crowded  around  them,  and  were  exceedingly 
friendly,  but  they  could  find  no  one  willing  to  accom- 

K 


146  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

pany  them  to  Tanna.  Two  young  men  came  on  board 
for  a  little  time,  but  they  were  soon  tired  of  the 
motion  of  the  ship,  and  begged  to  be  set  on  shore 
again.  During  the  night-time  they  lay  to,  intending 
to  make  Tanna,  which  was  about  forty  miles  distant, 
the  next  morning.  In  the  darkness  they  had  a 
magnificent  view  of  the  volcano,  "  blazing  up,"  says 
Mr.  Cunningham,  "  from  the  centre  of  its  crater, 
attended  with  dense  clouds  of  smoke." 

On  the  following  morning,  Mr.  Williams  made  the 
last  entry  in  his  journal,  and  the  unfinished  sentence 
with  which  it  concludes  is  at  once  pathetic  and  most 
significant.  The  paragraph  is  as  follows  : — "  Monday 
morning,  \Zth. — This  is  a  memorable  day,  a  day 
which  will  be  transmitted  to  posterity  ;  and  the 
records  of  the  events  which  have  this  day  transpired 
will  exert  after  those  who  have  taken  an  active  part 
in  them  have  retired  into  the  shades  of  oblivion  ;  and 
the  results  of  this  day  will  be " 

To  him,  the  results  of  that  day  were  probably 
made  known  in  the  land  of  light ;  to  us,  they 
are  still  veiled  in  mystery,  although  we  can  see  how 
Mr.  Williams'  martyrdom  has  inspired  and  sus- 
tained the  heroic  spirit  in  missionary  enterprise  at 
home  and  abroad.  When  we  arrive  at  the  age  of 
results,  we  shall  probably  find  that  one  fount  of 
universal  blessing  comes  from  the  tragedy  in  the 
New  Hebrides.  By  the  death  of  this  Stephen,  prob- 
ably many  a  Paul  has  been  called  to  work,  suffer,  and 
in  his  turn  attract  others  into  the  apostolical  succes- 
sion of  those  who  have  hazarded  their  lives  unto  the 
death  for  Christ's  sake. 

On  the  evening  of  the  19th  of  November,  the 
Camden  lay  to,  off  Erromanga,  and  Mr.  Williams  said 
that  as  Samoa  was  now  well  supplied  with  mission- 


A   STEPHEN    WITH    MANY   A   PAUL.  1 47 

aries,  he  had  almost  decided  to  make  his  home  in  the 
island  near  them.  But  when,  the  next  morning,  they 
were  in  the  boat  pulling  for  the  shore,  he  mentioned 
to  Captain  Morgan  the  fact  that  he  had  now  relin- 
quished this  intention.  He  then  thought  of  leaving  as 
quickly  as  possible,  and  hastening  on  to  the  small 
island  of  Annotam,  the  most  southerly  of  the  group. 
One  of  the  mission  party,  speaking  of  the  evening  of 
the  19th,  says,  "Mr.  Williams  spent  a  very  restless 
night,  not  being  able  to  sleep  (as  he  himself  told  us) 
with  thinking  about  his  intended  labours  in  the 
morning." 

The  following  description  of  the  tragical  events  of 
the  20th  of  November  are  taken  from  the  narratives  of 
Captain  Morgan  and  Mr.  Cunningham,  eye-witnesses 
of  the  scene  : — 

"  This  is  a  day  full  of  the  most  distressing  circum- 
stances. The  events  of  this  fatal  day  will  form  a 
dark  page  in  the  missionary  history.  .  .  .  We  were 
wafted  along  the  southern  side  of  the  island,  and 
got  round  to  a  fine  spacious  bay  exposed  to  the 
West.  .  .  .  The  shore  looked  most  Jnviting,  placid 
stillness  slept  along  its  dark  romantic  rocks,  and  the 
mountains  in  the  distance  presented  a  most  enchant- 
ing view.  A  tribe  of  natives  had  followed  our  ship 
along  the  shore,  and  now  we  saw  them  grouping 
together  among  the  rocks,  and  apparently  enjoying 
the  sight  of  our  vessel.  .  .  .  The  boat  was  accord- 
ingly lowered  and,  under  charge  of  Captain  Morgan, 
Mr.  Williams,  accompanied  by  Messrs.  Harris  and 
Cunningham,  all  left  together  for  the  shore.  The  ship 
then  got  a  fine  breeze  out  of  the  bay,  and  stood  out 
to  sea  to  work  up  to  wind,  so  as  to  be  as  near  as 
possible  when  the  boat  should  have  occasion  to  come 
on    board    as^ain.    .    .    .    One    or    two    circumstances 


14^  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

tended  to  inspire  us  with  confidence.  Immediately 
on  the  boat  reaching  the  shore,  we  got  a  chief  to  go 
and  bring  us  a  bucket  of  water.  He  did  so,  and 
returned  in  about  half-an-hour.  Some  others  brought 
us  cocoanuts.  Another  circumstance  also,  that  we 
noticed,  was  the  children  sporting  along  the  beach, 
which  we  supposed  would  not  be  the  case  if  they 
really  harboured  any  designs  against  us. 

"Messrs.  Williams,  Harris,  and  Cunningham,  ac- 
cordingly left  the  boat,  and  went  ashore.  After 
that,  they  commenced  rambling  along  the  beach,  and 
communicating  with  the  people.  At  one  place  Mr. 
Williams  sat  down,  and  a  few  natives  collected  round 
him,  to  whom  he  distributed  a  few  fish-hooks  and  a 
few  small  pieces  of  calico.  Captain  Morgan  then 
went  ashore,  and  was  seated  on  a  bank,  opposite  the 
boat,  which  was  off  the  beach.  The  party  then 
rambled  along  the  shore  till  they  reached  the  point 
formed  by  a  stream  of  water  that  ran  up  into  the 
land.  There  Messrs.  Williams  and  Cunningham 
remained  some  time,  while  Mr.  Harris  went  on  till 
he  got  out  of  sight  in  the  bush,  where  there  were 
a  number  of  natives.  In  the  meantime,  Messrs. 
Williams  and  Cunningham  had  also  separated.  At 
this  moment,  awful  to  relate,  a  yell  of  the  savages 
was  heard  inland,  and  the  natives  were  seen  in 
pursuit  of  Mr.  Harris,  and  almost  immediately  he 
was  seen  to  fall  into  the  water,  being  struck  down  by 
the  natives  with  clubs  and  spears.  At  the  very  first 
sight  of  the  above  circumstance,  Mr.  Cunningham 
began  to  run  for  the  boat,  and  in  passing  called  out  to 
Mr.  Williams  to  run  too,  but  instead  of  running  at 
the  very  instant,  he  remained  looking  inland  towards 
Mr.  Harris,  and  did  not  commence  running  till  he 
heard  the  war-shell  blown  and  the  yell  of  war  raised 


Ill 


iiiiiiiiliiiliiiiiiiiiiiijiif!^^^^ 


':Vi    111   111    feii'ii;!!,,!^ 


149 


A   STEPHEN   WITH   MANY  A  PAUL.  151 

as  a  signal  for  hostilities.  Mr.  Williams,  however, 
instead  of  running  for  the  boat,  had  made  a  direct 
cut  for  the  beach,  and  fell  into  the  water.  At  first, 
there  was  only  one  native  in  pursuit  of  him,  who 
struck  him  with  his  club  on  the  arm.  Mr.  Williams 
then  put  his  head  down  into  the  water.  By  this  time, 
another  native  had  arrived,  and  both  of  them  com- 
menced beating  him  with  their  clubs.  After  this,  a 
party  arrived,  and  thrust  a  number  of  arrows  into  his 
body.  His  body  was  then  stripped,  and  the  natives 
were  to  be  seen  wearing  among  them  his  clothes. 
We  saw  the  water  coloured  with  his  blood.  His  body 
was  then  taken  out  of  the  water,  and  lay  all  exposed 
on  the  sand  surrounded  by  his  cruel  murderers,  while 
the  very  children  took  up  stones,  and  threw  them 
against  the  lifeless  corpse.  While  they  were  thus 
occupied  with  Messrs.  Harris  and  Williams,  a  man 
was  in  pursuit  of  Mr.  Cunningham,  but  he  threw  a 
stone  at  the  man  behind  him,  and  happily  escaped." 

Captain  Morgan  also  adds,  that  Mr.  Williams  said 
to  him,  "  Captain,  you  know  we  like  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  land,  and  if  we  can  only  leave  good 
impressions  on  the  minds  of  the  natives,  we  can  come 
again,  and  leave  teachers  ;  we  must  be  content  to  do 
a  little ;  you  know  Babel  was  not  built  in  a  day." 

The  company  in  the  boat  were  helpless  spectators 
of  this  tragedy.  They  indeed  headed  the  boat 
towards  Mr.  Williams,  but  the  natives  shot  arrows, 
and  threw  stones  at  them.  They  were,  therefore, 
compelled  to  return  to  the  brig.  One  who  remained 
on  board  the  Cajnden,  thus  describes  their  return  : — 
"  As  the  boat  approached  us  within  hail,  we  foreboded 
something  had  happened,  but  our  imaginations  had 
not  formed  the  most  distant  idea  of  the  tragical  scene 
which  was  about  to  be  disclosed  to  us.     As  the  boat 


152  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

was  coming  alongside,  the  hurried  orders  of  '  Get  a 
towing  Hne  in  readiness,'  and  for  all  hands  to  stand 
by  and  make  sail,  produced  the  most  terrifying 
sensations  in  our  minds,  and  intense  anxiety  as  to 
what  had  really  happened.  We  heard  the  captain 
exclaim,  'We  have  lost  Mr.  Williams  and  Mr.  Harris,' 
and  he  added,  '  they  're  dead,  the  natives  have  killed 
them.'  Language  cannot  describe  what  our  feelings 
at  this  dreadful  moment  were.  Nothing  in  all  our 
past  experience  seemed  to  have  produced  similar 
sensations.  The  most  intense  grief  took  possession 
of  our  hearts,  and,  racked  with  most  excruciating 
pangs  of  agony,  we  looked  vacantly  on  the  shore, 
but,  oh  how  gloomy !  .  .  .  The  more  we  think  of  it, 
the  more  we  grieve,  the  more  we  wonder.  We  cannot 
but  conceive  that  our  friend  is  still  among  us,  and  his 
presence  animating  us  in  our  labours." 

A  gun  was  fired  from  the  Camden,  but  instead  of 
frightening  the  natives,  they  immediately  carried  off 
Mr.  Williams'  corpse  into  the  bush.  Without  excep- 
tion, the  native  teachers  on  board  were  panic  stricken 
by  the  tragical  events  of  the  morning,  and  as  they 
were,  therefore,  unwilling  to  land  upon  any  other 
island  of  this  dangerous  group.  Captain  Morgan  had 
no  other  resource  but  to  make  all  sail  for  Sydney, 
which  port  he  made  on  the  30th  of  November.  The 
Governor  of  New  South  Wales  was  induced  to  send 
a  ship  of  war  to  Erromanga,  to  recover  the  remains  of 
Mr.  Williams.  The  Favorite,  man-of-war,  left  Sydney 
for  that  purpose  on  the  ist  of  February,  and  on  the 
27th  of  the  same  month,  she  reached  Erromanga. 
The  savages  confessed  that  they  had  eaten  the  bodies, 
but  a  few  bones,  including  the  skulls,  were  given  to 
the  Captain.  With  these  relics  on  board,  the  Favorite 
sailed   to    Samoa,  and    at    midnight   on  the  24th  of 


A    STEPHEN    WITH    MANY   A   PAUL. 


153 


March,  Mrs.  Williams  learned  that  she  was  a  widow. 
The  grief  of  the  natives  was  intense  ;  pathetic  cries 
of  "  Alas,  Williams  !  alas  our  father  ! "  resounded  on 
every  side.  The  relics  of  the  martyr  were  interred 
at   Apia,  in    Samoa,  and    a    monument  was  erected 


APIA    MISSION    STATION,    ISLAND   OF    UPOLU,    SHOWING   THE    GRAVES 
OF   THE    MARTYR   MISSIONARIES,    WILLIAMS   AND    HARRIS. 

above  them,  bearing  this  inscription  : — "  Sacred  to 
the  memory  of  the  Rev.  John  Williams,  Father  of 
the  Samoan  and  other  missions,  aged  43  years  and 
5  months,  who  was  killed  by  the  cruel  natives  of 
Erromanga,  on  November  20th,  1839,  while  endeav- 


154  JOHN    WILLIAMS. 

ouring    to    plant    the    Gospel    of    Peace    on    their 
shores." 

Miss  Gordon-Cumming,  in  "  A  Lady's  Cruise  in 
' a  French  Man-of-War,"  says,  however,  "It  is  now 
known  that  the  bones  that  are  interred  at  Apia  were 
taken  at  random  by  the  natives  of  Erromanga  from  a 
cave  where  they  are  wont  to  deposit  their  own  dead, 
under  the  impression  that  the  foreign  ship  wished  to 
purchase  human  bones.  The  skull  of  John  Williams 
is  buried  beneath  a  palm  tree  in  Erromanga.  .  .  . 
Near  it  was  buried  a  small  bit  of  red  sealing  wax 
about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length,  which  was  found 
by  the  natives  in  his  pocket,  and  supposed  to  be  a 
foreign  idol.  This  relic  was  afterwards  disinterred 
and  sent  home  to  his  children." 

The  melancholy   tidings    did    not   reach    England 
until  the  6th  of  April,  1840. 

Mr.  Pritchard,  the  English  consul  at  Tahiti,  in  a 
letter  to  a  friend  at  Birmingham,  dated  March  3rd, 
1840,  says:  "His  death  has  made  a  deep  impression 
on  the  minds  of  the  natives  ;  many  of  them  are  wear- 
ing mourning  for  him.  They  say  that  they  cannot 
sleep  at  night  for  thinking  of  him.  They  frequently 
start  in  their  sleep,  supposing  that  they  see  him.  One 
woman  came  to  me  with  half  a  dollar  in  her  hand, 
saying  that  she  wished  to  purchase  a  portrait  of  Mr. 
Williams,  that  she  might  have  it  to  look  at,  now  that 
he  is  gone.  ...  In  this  case,  as  in  most  others,  the 
foreigners  have  been  the  first  aggressors.  A  few 
years  ago,  several  foreigners  united,  chartered  vessels, 
and  went  with  an  armed  force,  took  possession  of  a 
part  of  the  island  {i.e.,  of  Erromanga,)  built  a  fort  to 
protect  themselves,  and  then  cut,  at  their  pleasure,  the 
sandal  wood  belonging  to  the  poor  natives.  This 
sandal  wood   is  very  valuable  in  the   China  market. 


A   STEPHEN   WITH    MANY  A   PAUL.  155 

After  obtaining  a  considerable  quantity,  a  disease 
broke  out  among  them  which  carried  off  a  great 
many ;  the  others  were  compelled  to  leave  ;  many  of 
the  natives  were  killed  by  them.  I  am  not  sure  that 
Mr.  Williams  knew  that  this  was  the  island  where 
the  sandal  wood  expedition  had  been  ;  but  there  is  no 
doubt  his  death,  and  that  of  Mr.  Harris,  was  in  con- 
sequence of  the  base  treatment  the  natives  had  re- 
ceived from  the  foreigners  who  forced  their  way  upon 
these  shores.  Mr.  Harris  was  a  very  interesting  young 
man,  who  had  come  out  at  his  own  expense.  It  was 
his  intention  to  return  to  England  to  marry,  then 
coming  out  again  to  labour  at  the  Marquesas." 

As  an  example  of  the  outrages  which  have  exasper- 
ated the  natives  almost  to  the  point  of  madness,  we 
may  relate  the  following  incident. 

Three  vessels  that  were  collecting  sandal  wood, 
anchored  off  one  of  the  islands  which  form  the  group 
that  is  known  as  the  New  Hebrides.  The  white  men 
plundered  the  natives,  and  helped  themselves  to  the 
yams  and  fruit  without  offering  any  recompense  what- 
ever to  the  tillers  of  the  soil.  Nearly  three  hundred 
pigs  were  also  seized,  and  when  the  owners  of  these 
animals  attempted  to  resist  this  act  of  spoliation,  they 
were  shot  down  without  mercy.  Not  content  with 
these  high-handed  proceedings,  the  robbers  landed 
again,  and  chased  the  natives  into  a  large  cave,  in 
which  the  helpless  fugitives,  hoping  that  they  would 
be  safe,  took  refuge  from  their  brutal  foes.  But  the 
sailors  pulled  down  the  houses,  and  piled  the  dry 
thatch  rafters  and  other  materials  at  the  mouth  of  the 
cavern,  and  then  set  fire  to  the  pile.  The  miserable 
natives  were  of  course  suffocated  by  the  smoke. 

It  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  that  such  deeds 
were  repaid  by  similar  outrages  ;  indeed,  so  insecure 


15^  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

was  life,  that  Dr.  Turner  declares  that,  to  his  own 
personal  knowledge,  no  less  than  three  hundred  and 
twenty  men,  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  sandal  wood 
trade,  perished  in  less  than  nine  years. 

During  the  year  of  Mr.  Williams'  death,  a  whale 
ship  sailed  along  the  coast  of  an  island  adjacent  to 
Erromanga,  and  fired  promiscuously  into  the  villages 
as  she  passed  them.  Two  missionaries  were  upon 
this  island,  but  they  were  fortunately  not  killed  by  the 
natives  in  retaliation  for  the  cruelty  of  their  fellow- 
countrymen. 

In  1842,  Mrs.  Williams  returned  to  England.  When 
off  Cape  Horn,  she  wrote  a  farewell  to  the  Isles  of 
the  South,  from  which  the  following  sentences  are 
extracted  : — 

"  Farewell,  rolling  ocean,  on  whose  bosom  we  have 
been  borne  from  island  to  island,  honoured  by  carry- 
ing the  glad  tidings  of  the  Gospel  of  Peace  to  the 
benighted  inhabitants ! 

"  Natives !  you  who  have  felt  and  known  that  the 
Lord  is  gracious,  farewell !  May  you  be  kept  from 
returning  to  those  evils  which  you  profess  to  have 
thrown  away,  and  be  faithful  unto  death,  that  you  may 
receive  a  Crown  of  Life  ! 

"  Heathens  !  I  weep  for  you,  while  I  say, '  Father  for- 
give them,  they  know  not  what  they  do ! ' 

"  My  Dear  Children,  I  trust  I  say  farewell  only  for  a 
season  ;  if  spared,  I  hope  to  welcome  you  in  the  land 
of  your  fathers." 

Her  eldest  son,  John,  and  his  wife,  are  the  children 
addressed  in  the  last  paragraph  ;  they  remained  at 
Samoa.  In  the  year  1845,  Mrs.  Williams  settled  at 
Islington,  and  became  a  member  of  Union  Chapel. 
For  some  years,  she  worked  actively  among  the  poor 
as  a  tract  distributer  and    sick  visitor.     But  in  the 


A   STEPHEN   WITH   MANY  A   PAUL.  1 57 

winter  of  1849-50  the  symptoms  of  a  disease  appeared, 
which  in  185 1  proved  fatal.  On  the  15th  of  June, 
185 1,  she  rejoined  her  husband,  bearing  testimony, 
until  the  last,  of  her  faith  in  Christ.  "  I  hope  I  am 
not  deceiving  myself,"  she  said,  "  dear  Jesus  have 
mercy  upon  me.     My  trust  is  only  in  Theer 

"  What  a  happy  meeting  you  will  have  with  your 
dear  Mr.  Williams  in  heaven,"  remarked  a  friend,  and 
Mrs.  Williams  at  once  replied,  "  Oh  yes  !  What  a  day 
that  will  be  !     What  a  blessed  day  ! " 

Another  friend  repeated, 

"Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed 

Feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are, 
While  on  His  breast  I   lean  my  head. 
And  breathe  my  life  out  sweetly  there," 

and  Mrs.  Williams  constantly  murmured,  "  Oh,  I  zvish 
I  could,  I  wish  I  could." 

Dr.  Allon  said  of  her,  "  Her  faith  was  clear  and 
unfaltering  to  the  last.  And  once  and  again,  as 
I  have  knelt  at  her  bedside,  and  an  almost  over- 
powering sympathy  has  prompted  expressions  and 
petitions  that  only  the  strongest  faith  could  appro- 
priate, has  the  earnest  but  tremulous  response 
assured  me  that  she  held  fast  her  confidence;  and 
I  have  left  her,  wondering  most  of  all  at  the  mysterious 
power  of  the  religion  that  could  thus  enable  her 
patiently  to  endure." 

"  So  her  children  and  friends  returned  to  their  place ; 
for  those  who  waited  for  Christiana  had  carried  her  out 
of  their  sight.  So  she  went,  and  called  and  entered 
in  at  the  gate,  with  all  the  ceremonies  of  joy  that  her 
husband  Christian  had  entered  with  before  her." 

Of  Mr.  Williams,  Dr.  Campbell  says  :  "  The  first 
thing  with  regard  to  his  person  that  presents  itself 
to  us,  is  his  great  physical  power,  which    materially 


158  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

contributed  to  success  in  his  peculiar  sphere  of  mis- 
sionary effort.  He  was  massive  rather  than  muscular, 
and  strong,  without  remarkable  activity ;  his  stature 
was  somewhat  above  the  middle  size,  his  chest  was 
of  unusual  breadth,  the  shoulders  considerably 
rounded  and  broadly  set.  His  aspect  was  a  little 
singular ;  indeed  he  was  often  taken  for  a  foreigner. 
There  was  something  strikingly  peculiar  in  the  aspect 
of  Mr.  Williams.  Having  been  once  seen,  he  was 
ever  after  easily  recognised,  and  you  could  instantly 
point  him  out  at  a  distance,  among  ten  thousand  men. 
The  head  was  very  large,  long,  and  wanting  in  that 
conical  elevation,  so  generally  found  associated  with 
extreme  benevolence,  a  quality  for  which,  notwith- 
standing, he  was  so  remarkable.  The  forehead  was 
an  oblong  square,  of  no  great  breadth,  and  retired 
considerably.  The  countenance  altogether  was  one 
of  uncommon  benignity  ;  it  had  all  the  serenity  of  the 
finest  summer  eve,  shaded  with  a  slight  expression  of 
sadness.  The  eye  was  soft  and  lustrous  ;  it  sparkled 
from  beneath  his  dark  brows,  distinctly  bespeaking 
the  benevolence  that  glowed  within.  All  his  features 
were  rounded,  every  feature  evinced  simplicity  of 
character,  tranquillity  of  heart,  and  honesty  of  purpose. 
The  entire  visage,  in  fact,  was  so  deeply  stamped 
with  the  impress  of  good  nature  and  good  will,  as  to 
inspire  every  beholder  with  immediate  confidence. 
He  hoped  everything  from  labour  under  the  guidance 
of  heaven,  without  it — nothing.  Industry  was  the 
usual  element  he  breathed  in  ;  he  could  not  be  idle, 
neither  could  he  be  in  a  bustle.  Had  he  been  escap- 
ing from  a  sinking  ship  or  a  burning  house,  he  would 
have  proceeded  with  deliberation." 

"  Mr.  Williams,"  he  adds,  "  did  not  know  that  he  was 
a  genius,  till  the  people  of  England  told  him ;  and  even 


A   STEPHEN    WITH    MANY   A   PAUL.  1 59 

then  he  was  not  quite  clear  about  it.  He  believed 
that  what  HE  did  was  practicable  by  every  one  who 
would  bestow  the  requisite  effort."  One  who  knew 
him  even  more  intimately  (Rev.  W.  Ellis),  thus 
depicts  his  character.  "  He  was  richly  invested  with 
rare  endowments  for  the  high  and  holy  enterprise  in 
which  his  life  was  spent  and  sacrificed.  .  .  .  Among 
the  rare  endowments  which  he  so  richly  shared,  the 
most  conspicuous  were  those  that  were  most 
practical.  The  love  that  all  hearts  cherished  for  him 
is  the  most  unequivocal  evidence  that  benevolence 
and  love  were  among  the  ruling  feelings  of  his  own 
bosom.  His  abilities,  natural  and  acquired,  his  wide- 
spreading  range  of  aim  and  action,  his  admirable  and 
uniform  identification  of  himself  with  the  people, 
blending  inseparably  their  advancement  in  everything 
important  and  valuable  with  his  own  satisfaction  and 
happiness,  and  his  subordination  of  all  attainments, 
influence  and  efforts,  to  the  extension  of  the  Gospel, 
and  the  spiritual  benefits  of  the  people,  combine  to 
render  him  one  of  the  most  honoured  messengers  of 
mercy  that  the  Church  has  sent  forth,  or  the  heathen 
world  has  received." 

****** 
In  the  year  1857,  a  Nova  Scotian,  with  his  wife, 
settled  as  missionaries  in  the  island  which  had  been 
stained  by  the  blood  of  John  Williams.  At  first  they 
were  kindly  received,  but,  when  the  measles  had  broken 
out  in  the  island,  they  were  sentenced  to  die  as  hav- 
ing caused  the  epidemic.  On  the  20th  of  May,  1861, 
both  husband  and  wife  were  brutally  murdered  by  the 
enraged  savages.  With  a  heroism  almost  apostolic, 
Mr.  Gordon's  brother  at  once  took  up  his  murdered 
brother's  work,  and  succeeded  in  securing  the  affections 
of  those  who  had  robbed  him  of  both  brother  and 


l60  JOHN   WILLIAMS. 

sister.  But  on  the  7th  of  March,  1872,  he  also 
received  the  martyr's  crown,  being  killed  by  a  native 
whose  child  had  died.  Thus  many  have  died  for 
Erromanga,  but  their  blood  has  not  been  shed  in  vain. 
The  death  of  John  Williams  was  a  noble  close  to 
his  long  life  of  service  on  behalf  of  the  natives  of  the 
South  Seas.  It  was  the  crowning  and  highest 
expression  of  the  sacrifice  spread  out  through  all  the 
years  of  his  missionary  career.  He  himself  knew  the 
risk  that  he  ran  every  time  he  set  foot  upon  heathen 
shores ;  but  his  passion  for  souls  was  so  intense,  and 
his  devotion  to  his  work  so  absorbing  and  overpower- 
ing, that  he  could  allow  no  considerations  of  peril  to 
hinder  or  prevent  his  progress.  With  the  eagerness 
that  men  generally  only  manifest  when  seeking  for 
gold,  he  craved  for  the  eternal  well-being  of  the 
degraded  tribes  of  Polynesia.  His  journal  bears 
witness  not  only  to  the  ardour  of  this  desire,  but  also 
to  the  fact  that  it  was  habitual  to  him.  He  lived, 
planned,  suffered,  and  at  last  died,  because  he  loved 
the  souls  of  men.  To  such  a  man  all  the  race  is  under 
the  most  weighty  obligation  ;  he  unmeasurably  lifts 
the  tone  of  even  Christian  morality,  his  unselfishness, 
his  sincere  piety,  are  an  inspiration  "  as  if  an  angel 
shook  his  wings."  Such  men  are  the  choicest  gifts  of 
mediatorial  grace ;  they  are  gospels,  and  should  be  to 
us  revelations  as  to  what  God  can  make  of  a  man 
and  do  with  a  man  who  will  yield  to  His  Divine 
influences  and  Grace.  Above  all  things,  such  a 
martyrdom  lays  a  perpetual  obligation  upon  Christians 
to  continue  the  forward  movement,  until  all  nations 
shall  serve  Him,  all  people  call  Him  blessed. 

"AND   THEY   GLORIFIED    GOD    IN    ME." 


S.  W.  PARTKIUGE  AND  CO.,  9  PATERNOSTER  ROW,  LONDON. 


Princeton  Theological 


ical  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  01045  8711 


